Circle of Life: The 51st Hunger Games
by LadyCordeliaStuart
Summary: It's about time, isn't it?
1. LadyCordeliaStuart Resurgence

**I'M BACK, FOOLS!**

 **UPDATE:**

 **MCT SUCKS! That was the worst month of my life. But I'm in job school now (for videography), so I get a little more free time. On weekdays I get about three hours of free time, and my weekends are open. I always say this, but this story REALLY WILL be slower, since I'll probably only get to write on mostly weekends. But I'll do my best and you're always patient.**

 **SO WHO'S READY?!**

 **This one's a normal year because I don't have the massive amounts of time a Survivor or Resurrection story takes. I will be doing more of those, but it will be once I graduate and go to my next station (fingers crossed for Japan)**

 **I'm doing a new system this year with submissions. Some slots are reserved because I value my longtime readers and feel bad if they miss out because the slots fill in an hour. I reserved some for them, and the rest are open without reservations. That way I can get a buttload of submissions and take the really good ones. But don't feel daunted if your writing skills are lacking or something. I'll read between the lines and take into account things like your age and enthusiasm.**

 **Important note: My computer is at home, so I lost my list of reservations. I'm super sorry and went through my PMs to find all the reservations I could.**

 **Tribute list:**

 ***indicates pre-reserved slots I picked just to make sure the submitter had one. They can switch them when they see the list**

 **District One male: Bronze Castilla- 18 (allying with Kio, Kaulan and Falcon)**

 **District One female: Rose O'Durren- 18 (Career)**

 **District Two male: Kio Stone- 18 (allying with Falcon, Bronze and Kaulan)**

 **District Two female: Valerian Mercury- 16 (Career)**

 **District Three male: Coil Oxida- 17 (Open to allies)**

 **District Three female: Martyna Stark- 15 (seeking to ally with Isabellina and Joella)**

 **District Four male: Mahi Arapaima- 18 (Career)**

 **District Four female:** **Antonia Alix da Costa- 18 (Career)**

 **District Five male: Mark Lafayette- 17 (Loner)**

 **District Five female: Dina Emmer- 17 (looking for a group of allies)**

 **District Six male: Kaulan Kippton- 17 (Allying with Kio, Bronze and Falcon)**

 **District Six female: Adira Baelyn- 16 (Allying with Hlenn and Mak)**

 **District Seven male: Braddock "Brad" Simpson- 18 (With Bronze and the rest)**

 **District Seven female: Cloelia Daleigh- 18 (Career)**

 **District Eight male: Max Solstice- 16 (Seeking one ally close to his age)**

 **District Eight female: Isabelline Thayer- 15 (seeking fun allies)**

 **District Nine male: Dylan Buddard- 12 (Not seeking allies)**

 **District Nine female: Joella Krame- 18 (Allying with Martyna)**

 **District Ten male: Falcon Jacobs- 17 (Allying with Kaulan and Kio)**

 **District Ten female: Historia Brumby- 12**

 **District Eleven male: Mak Jonson- 18 (Allying with Adira and Hlenn)**

 **District Eleven female: Hlenn Rambutan- 16 (Allying with Hlenn and Adira)**

 **District Twelve male: Aldous Bridge- 17 (open to allies)**

 **District Twelve female: Theodosia "Theo" Mulroy- 17 (With Hlenn, Adira, and Mak)**

* * *

 **Harlequin Marceau- Former Announcer**

 _Huh, another Hunger Games coming up._ Seems like it was a long time since the last one. Not that it matters much to me anymore. I got fired. Now I have to sit around all day eating bonbons and watching soap operas in my underwear. Life is hard.


	2. Form

**LOL I forgot the form! I don't have a set form so you can do whatever you like, but here are some suggestions:**

 **Name, age and District: you can include backups if your character is easily moved**

 **Personality:**

 **Appearance: I don't know why, since it never matters, but I like reading them**

 **Backstory:**

 **Token:**

 **What they trained in: the more things they train in, the less skilled they are at each. But that's not necessarily bad. Some Tributes specialize and some are jacks of all trades.**

 **Gamemaker session and score: I take submitted scores since popularity is a big part of winning and readers police each other**

 **Reaping scene: I get bored of writing the same Reaping scenes, so I like to do a different intro scene that shows the character**

 **Parade and interview outfits: I'll make them if none are sent, but I make some tributes have stupid outfits, so beware**

 **Biggest strength: I can usually gather strengths from the other sections, so I've started having just one strength here to get an all-around essence**

 **Biggest weakness: Same thing**

 **Fight or flight reflex: This is super helpful for scenes where Tributes cross paths**

 **What they would do if they see another Tribute: like if flight or fight isn't necessary**

 **Bloodbath actions:**

 **Allying or not: I'll pair up people who are open to any allies, or otherwise submitters can PM each other**

 **Games strategy:**

 **How long you think they'll last: I do take this into account, since you know your character better than I do**

 **How they would win: Yo I'm lazy and want ideas**

 **How they would die: if they have to die, at least you get a booby prize and pick**

 **Anything else useful:**

* * *

 **For sponsors I'm going to go with the lazy system I have where generally you can send one life-saving item and kind of just send other little items along the way if you don't get crazy. I might send Careers extra stuff since they're rich and all. I also might send Tributes items that if it makes for a cooler story, but that won't affect placings.**


	3. District One

**One District down already! I have a lot of forms so I can get some more done.**

* * *

Rose O'Durren- District One female

In every classroom, there's a back row. In that back row, there are communities- microcosm of the educational system. There are the slackers, back there because the teacher either won't see them sleep or has already written them off. There are those that can't follow the material and hope hiding behind other people will keep the teacher from calling on them. There's the one weird kid that thinks no one knows what he's doing when _everyone_ knows. And there are the ones like me- the ones who have no reason to be invisible, but like it all the same.

Today's class was a formality anyway. It was the say the selected volunteer was announced. Not all schools made the announcement. Volunteers tended to come from wealthy families, so they were almost always from either my school or my sister school.

There was a tiny clicking noise as someone in the office picked up an intercom. Everyone sat up straight and stopped murmuring.

"Good morning, students! I am pleased to announce this year's female volunteer for the Fifty-first Hunger Games! Please give a proud welcome to Rose O'Durren!

The room burst into chaos. Students threw assignments into the air, hooter and screamed, and pounded their desks like apes. The only one who didn't make any noise was me.

"We all knew it would be you," Dazzle said, leaning over my desk.

"Thank you for your loyalty," I said coldly. I remembered how it was before I clawed my way to the top of the class. I remembered Dazzler throwing whatever slur she could think of, and Pyrite snapping my bra because he knew I wouldn't do anything. Jasper, Aurora and Tchotchke were cheering like I didn't remember the day they cornered me on the way home from school, held me down, and tore out clumps of my hair so "It would be as ugly as the rest of me".

"Would you like to say a few words, Rose?" Me. Marquis asked.

"No, thank you," I said. They didn't deserve to see me cry and they didn't deserve to see me happy. The only ones I needed to talk to were my parents. It was probably time to tell them I'd started training.

* * *

Bronze Castila- District One male

I didn't even want to be here.

That was the norm in most Districts, but in Two, there were hundreds of boys who would (and some did) kill to be in my place. I must have pissed off someone in the sky, because this was ridiculous.

"You're going to have so much fun," Sterling said enviously. My little brother wasn't sure about whether he wanted to volunteer, but he was sure he wanted the prize.

"Once I get the stupid Arena done with, then the fun part starts," I said. It was sort of true, anyway. "I can make lots of friends. And then kill them."

"And you have to invite us, remember?" Sterling asked.

"I'll invite everyone!" I said. A bigger party was a better party.

After my family left, I only had a few minutes with Charm. He was the one to give me my token.

"Nice. Thanks, Narcissus," I said as I took the charm bracelet.

"It's something to look at when all those pretty Capitolites catch your eye," he said poutily.

"Sure, they're pretty," I said, and Charm scrunched his nose. "But none of them are as pretty as you."

Time flies when you're having fun. I didn't expect the door to open again, since visitor time was over. Then I saw who it was.

"Are we having fun?" Peacekeeper Harris asked, and the room went cold.

"Not anymore," I said.

"Good. You know your job," he said.

"Win the Games, make you look good, blah blah," I said.

"You better get your head on straight, boy. Unless you want to lose it, and your families'," Peacekeeper Harris said.

"Of course I'm going to do my best. I don't want to die," I said. Then I sat and pretended to listen while he jabbered about honor or responsibility or something.

Finally. He was killing my vibe, I thought when he left. Of course I'm going to do my best. If I die, I'll miss all the parties.

* * *

 **Rose:** straight, silky jet black hair that reaches her lower back, and dark hazel eyes. She has pale skin. She is slender and fairly muscled in her upper arms. She has slender hands and long nails. She is tall (5'11") and long-legged. She has three thin scars on her thigh from a knife.

 **Bronze:** dark brown hair and cool gray eyes. He is of Hispanic descent and has light tan skin, though he can pass as white. He's tall and muscular from years of training, though he's always wearing a smile.


	4. District Two

Kio Stone- District Two male

 _I'm not crazy. Usually people say that when they're crazy, but I'm actually not. I know you're not real. I just miss you…_

I knew my sister wasn't real, or at least not really alive. Kaynah died in that Arena, when her former ally got her sword out just a little faster. That's the way the Games go. If you want to play, you have to be ready to lose. But it didn't stop me from missing my big sister every minute of every day. So sometimes I liked to pretend she was still here- pretend I could see her and talk to her again. I didn't want her to leave me.

You're going to do it, aren't you, she would have said if she'd been beside me in line on Reaping day. Boy, sometimes you are not smart.

 _Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself,_ I said to my pretend sister.

Don't do it. This is a terrible idea. And I would know about terrible ideas, she said.

 _Oh excuse me, great sage,_ I said.

Oh, is that how it is? Remember that time you caught a garter snake and I _told_ you not to open the box inside the classroom? And what did you do? You opened the box. And what happened?

 _It got away and everyone freaked out and Mr. Catullus broke a desk catching it,_ I admitted.

Should have listened to your big sister.

"Odysseus Boar!"

Funnily enough, it was an Academy student this year. But Odysseus was only mediocre, and he knew he wasn't really going. I'd earned that honor. It was mine for the taking.

I know what you're thinking, Kaynah said.

A whisper of guilt nagged at me. I'd always supported Kaynah, but one day, after watching a particularly violent death in the Games, I got scared and asked her not to go. She soothed me and brushed it off, and I was doing the same thing to her.

"Do we have any volunteers?"

Don't do it.

 _I want glory and fame and… all that,_ I said.

We're already rich. Drown your mediocrity in mansions and wine.

 _I want to be a hero._

Adopt a shelter dog.

 _I want to be like you._

Dead.

I wavered as I stood, thinking about possibilities and regrets. I could make or break a future with one said or unsaid word.

"Do we have any volunteers?"

It was now or never. Years of training and generations of combat boiled down to a second.

"I volunteer as Tribute!" I blurted without thinking.

Exactly right. You didn't think.

* * *

Valerian Mercury- District Two female

I was not Pray's favorite student. It had taken me months to even convince her to train me, since I wasn't one of the top students. For months, I'd come to her private classes and asked to come in, and she shot me down every time. So I'd go out back and stand right outside the window, watching her and imitating her lessons. After I wore her down like a Maasai tracking a lion, she finally let me inside. It looked like she expected me to be a crazy dedicated and studious student. Well, I sure showed her. I was actually a huge goofball. I just really, really liked her.

"Why do you even want to be in the Games?" she asked as I dismantled a dummy, sending stuffing flying everywhere.

"It sounds like a blast," I said.

"For maybe three weeks," Pray said.

"You take what you can get," I said.

"Are you ever serious?" she asked.

"I seriously killed that guy," I said, pointing at the dummy. "Why would you do it if it's not fun?"

"Well, it _is_ nice to enjoy your work," Pray admitted. "Are you going to wear those stupid ears in the Arena?"

"Meow," I said, feeling at my cat ear headband with one hand. "Gotta have a token. It's my _signature."_

"Right. I have bloodstained razor claws, and you have a cat headband," Pray said.

"Why do you train?" I changed the subject. "You had your Games, and I know training isn't the same."

Pray shrugged. "Fire burns. Water flows. A hunter hunts."

That was why I liked Pray. We were two sides of a coin. We both loved the hunt, but other than that, we were opposites. Pray was as grounded and no-nonsense as I was flighty and mischievous. Like molten metal beside cold steel…

"I _had_ to join the Games. It was the only way I could do _this."_ I swiped another dummy across the stomach and delighted at the spilling fluff. It wasn't that I had anything against people. They were just so entertaining to kill.

Pray surveyed the spilled ersatz blood.

"I did like that part," she said wistfully.

* * *

 **Kio:** : / / o

 **Valerian: 6'1, long glossy dark hair down to middle back, freckles across nose, average but pretty slender face, ivory skin, scar down the side of her face in a straight line down the middle of left eye, has stitches for looks up and around her arm/along her collarbone and up her neck, strong arms/shoulders with long legs,wears **black cat ears on her head, lip ring piercing

Valerian got submitted to me like four months ago. Finally, here she is! Tinks has been in it for the looooong haul.

Just a reminder that if I don't respond for days, it's because I'm at class and haven't seen the message yet.


	5. Four Reaping

Antonia Alix da Costa- District Four female

Babies have beautiful auras. They were white with little rainbow aurora-like flashes, like when you look at something too bright and see flashes of color. Most people didn't believe me when I said I could see them, so I didn't tell most people. Niklas didn't make fun of me, though. He was just a beautiful little baby.

"I know," I cooed back at him, though of course he hadn't said anything. "I don't want to leave you either. But someone has to take care of us. After Mom and Dad died in that tragic kraken attack…" Maybe my parents hadn't really been killed by a giant octopus, but they _were_ dead. That was the part that mattered.

"What's the Games?" I answered Niklas' pretend question. "It's not really fun, despite the name. I'll go fight a bunch of people, and since I'm going to be the best, they'll give me a ton of money. Yeah, it doesn't make much sense. I'd say it's something you'll understand when you're older, but I hope you don't. You should play other games."

The truth was, I didn't want Niklas to be like me. I knew that when I went into the Games, I would be playing to win. I knew it was hypocritical to go in trying to win money for my siblings when I was willing to kill other people's siblings to do it, but it was the way it had to be. Not everyone could be the good guy. Sometimes bad things had to get done, and someone had to do it. To me, my family was more important than myself. I was ready to give away my morality so they could keep theirs, and in my opinion, that made me sort of a weird, twisted good guy. And if it didn't, I didn't care.

"Have fun with Ms. Neap," I said as I set Niklas in his cradle. It felt weird leaving a baby with my neighbors, but at least I'd asked first. I just came home to Niklas sitting in his crib in my kitchen with a note from my aunt. I didn't ask any questions, since it probably had something to do with the same purge that took my parents. I was already probably on some lists for being their daughter, and I didn't want to make things worse.

On my way out of the room, I stopped by the mirror. My own aura was never as clear to me as other people's, since I wasn't totally self-aware and all that. As the Games got closer, I'd been worried it would change colors, probably to red. I was happy to see it was still blue. A nice, solid green, the color of calm, order, and purpose. I hoped it would stay.

* * *

Mahi Arapaima- District Four male

"Good morning, house!"

My family was all out, which meant I could talk freely. People looked at me funny if they say me talking to the walls and stuff. It was hard to explain. I knew chairs and things weren't really alive like people, but they still felt alive to me. I felt bad when people didn't use broken things or whatever, because I felt like they were lonely. I still had all my stuffed animals from when I was little, because I couldn't bear to abandon them. I knew how silly it sounded, but just in case, I made sure to talk to things sometimes.

"Who's ready to clean?" I asked the bottle of window cleaner. I liked cleaning, because most people didn't. That made them grumpy when they cleaned, and it made the cleaning stuff sad that everyone hated using it. Everything had a purpose, and everything wanted to fulfill it. That was why I ended up using the cestus at the Academy. No one else was using the cool spikey gloves, and they felt useless.

It seemed weird that I would train when I felt like everything was alive, but there was a reason for that, too. I started training because I saw all the unused weapons lying around all sad. Since it was kind of a rotten year for the Academy, I got picked. I went with it because then I could use things in the Arena and learn about something I didn't know anything about: what it was like to actually be in a Hunger Games. I loved learning about things as much as I loved using them. As for killing people, I wasn't super excited, but it wasn't that bad. Sometimes your purpose is to die, and I didn't know what happened after that. Maybe you got reborn as something else. Maybe even something inanimate, and I was right about things being alive. That was just idle thought, though. Death was the one thing I'd never been able to learn much about.

"Now you look good," I said when I was done cleaning the window. It was just the way it liked to be: all spotless and clear. Soon I would be in the Capitol, and I wouldn't be around to clean and talk to things. I'd already asked my little brother Zander to take care of my stuffed animals. I could only hope the other stuff would also get talked to. I'd told everything where I was going so they knew I hadn't abandoned them. I'd miss everything, but I was excited to meet and learn new things in the Capitol. I heard they had _everything_ there.

* * *

 **Mahi: Appearance: White, tall (like 6'2"? Idk, tall but not giant). Muscular. Blonde hair, white eyes, tan.**

 **Antonia: slightly sunkissed fair skin and freckles. Her eyes are a deep sea foam green and her hair is dark blonde bordering on brown. Besides those striking features no one would really call her "pretty".**


	6. Eight Reaping

Max Solstice- District Eight male

When I grew up, I wanted to be just like Mayor Servo. He was quick-thinking but solid, and he led people without bossing them around. I had a hard time sitting still or staying on one subject, which was why politics was perfect for me. A mayor had to think about dozens of things at once, and they were always moving from one appointment to another. That was why they needed people like me to run errands. I wasn't _entirely_ like Mayor Servo, of course. For example, he thought the best way to help the Districts was with a stronger tesserae system, while I thought we should work on the educational system so District people had more varied job opportunities. It was good to see different opinions, though, and I tried to make sure I listened and didn't shut them down.

"Can you shred these for me?" Mayor Solstice asked, handing me a stack of papers. They already had big redacted blocks, so it didn't matter if I read them, but it was still good not to have them lying around. Most documents were digital, but it was impossible to fully delete them, so sometimes I got to shred papers. I liked the noise the shredder made and the neat little pile of strips that came out, but sometimes it took forever. I quickly got bored of the monotonous work, and I looked out the window at passersby and fiddled with a pen to get some stimulation.

There was always so much going on in Eight. There were the huge factories, which I was super glad I didn't work in. There were trucks and trains chugging around carrying things to other Districts, and there were people going in and out of apartment buildings and skyscrapers. I liked to see my District having another productive day, and I liked to look around for things to fix. There was a pothole on the road, and I made a note to tell one of Mayor Solstice's administrative assistants. There was a long line outside the tesserae station, which was no good. People should be able to get food without playing Russian roulette.

I tapped my fingers on the shredder as it finished the last of the pages. There was so much to do, and it seemed so useless to be stuck by a shredder. We needed a bigger shredder that could take all the papers at once. Then we would have more time for important things. That was why I wanted to be a politician. I had lots of ideas, and I loved getting things done.

* * *

Isabelline Thayer- District Eight

I thought the noise was the lunch whistle at first, and I started to put my work away. Then another whistle joined it, and we realized someone else had gotten caught. The first girl was screaming as heavy machinery mauled her, and the second girl was panicking instead of helping.

When I got to the site, it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Zoe, one of the thread pickers, had gotten her hand tangled in the thread, which pulled her hand into the machinery. Two of her fingers were already mangled and a third was about to get pulled in. Girls were gathered around, some screaming and some trying to help, and others tried to shut off the machine or run for the medic.

As I knelt to help, Arachne grabbed Zoe's hand and yanked. There was a popping noise as joints cracked and pulled out of her fingers into the machine, and the thread scraped furrows down her bloody skin. Her hand slid into Arachne's lap, squirting blood into her pants.

That was when I joined in. I grabbed the first aid kit attached to the machinery and pulled out some bandages. Zoe's fingers were still inside the machine, getting churned into mush. All we had to do was stop the bleeding. I wound the bandages around Zoe's fingers as Arachne unwound the thread ahead of me. Zoe was still screaming, and all around me, girls were sobbing and huddling together.

"Is she going to be okay?" one of the tiny thread-pickers, maybe seven years old, asked.

"She's not going to die," I said, which didn't calm them down.

I turned to Zoe. "Stop screaming. You're scaring them," I said.

"She just got her _fingers_ torn off!" Arachne said, glaring at me.

"I know," I said, before turning to quell the children who had begun screaming all over again as soon as Arachne said that. It was awful what happened, and I wanted to throw up as much as anyone else. There just wasn't time. We needed someone to be strong, and if it had to be me, I would step up.

"How did you stay so calm?" Arachne asked as I wiped Zoe's blood off the floor after the ambulance took her away.

"I've seen worse," I said. And with the future I had ahead of me, I'd see it again.

* * *

 **Isabelline:** **dark, olive skin, short (to her jaw), curly black hair, large brown eyes, broad bridged, hooked nose, short (5ft 4). Sicilian descent.**

 **Max: Max is tall for his age, standing at 5 feet and 10 inches. He has fair skin, untamed dirty-blond curls that just sit on top of his head, and brown eyes. He also has a small birthmark under his chin.**


	7. Five Reaping

Mark Lafayette- District Five male

Life handed me a nineteen deck. So I threw the cards in Life's face and dealt myself some better ones.

On the surface, civics class was a joke. We were all learning the canned lessons the Capitol wanted us to learn, and no one was brave enough to say otherwise. I wasn't dumb enough to make waves either, but I participated the _heck_ out of the debates.

"Okay, just… you win! A tomato is a vegetable, not a fruit," Surge conceded.

"Darn right," I said. Of course I didn't think a tomato was a vegetable. That was just the side I was assigned to argue. Professor Wattson said he wouldn't want to argue with me that the sky wasn't orange. I hoped someday he would try. He was a brilliant guy, but I still wanted to give it a shot.

After class, I could feel the eyes of the other students. I wasn't the center of the universe or anything, but I could sense a bunch of them whispering in admiration and another clump sending dirty looks my way. I was somewhat of a divisive figure. The average students either ignored me or assumed I was smart. The preps and the wannabe valedictorians resented me hardcore for being competition. I didn't care either way. What I did, I did for me.

When school was done, I headed home. Which was a short distance, since I lived at the school. Specifically, I lived with Professor Wattson, since I was sort of his apprentice as well as his student. I didn't exactly have parents. They weren't dead, but they didn't want me. _Oh well, their loss._ The orphanages and foster homes I drifted through didn't really want me either, since I had a tendency to sort of never shut up. Professor Wattson was the only one with the patience to deal with me. I suspected he thought I was just "gifted". I was smart, all right, but I hoped he didn't mind that I didn't want to be a teacher. I had a lot more life to live, and one job wouldn't be enough for me.

The school basement had a few tiny apartments for faculty, and Professor Wattson converted an unused broom closet to add space for me. I had a bed, a lamp and a desk, but that was plenty. I hardly spent any time there. There was a whole world outside, just waiting for me to arrive.

* * *

Dina Emmer- District Five female

My father and brother Isaac were a bit ahead of me on the mountain. I liked to stay slow and set the pace. There was no need to rush. It was a lovely day, and I could see more rocks if I kept it slow.

Since Isaac was ahead of me, he saw the rock first. Most people would have seen nothing but an unassuming chunk of gray stone, but everyone in my family knew what it was. My father was a geologist, and he taught us everything there was to know about minerals and the earth underneath us. It provided us a stable living, and it provided me with a passion.

"Hey, check it out!" Isaac said, pointing at the stone. He scooped it up.

"Ooh, a geode!" I said, and I ran ahead to catch up with him. "Let me smash it!"

"No! I found it," Isaac said.

"Come on. Please?" I wheedled.

"Find your own geode," Isaac said.

"But it's almost dark. We have to turn around soon," I said.

"Find one on the way down, then," Isaac said.

"I never find them," I said poutily. "You're way better at it."

" _That's_ true," Isaac said. His arm, drawn back to throw, started to lower. I looked hopefully at the geode and put on my brightest face.

"All right," Isaac said reluctantly. He passed me the geode, shaking his head slightly at himself as he did. I let out a faint cry of excitement and threw the rock full force at a slab of limestone. It broke open, sending shards of rock into the air and revealing the white crystals lining its interior. I gathered them up and handed them back to Isaac.

"Here. They're yours. Thanks for letting me smash it," I said. Isaac tucked the pieces into his pocket and we started back down the hill.

It wasn't even a very pretty geode. It just gave me a funny feeling to know Isaac would let me have it even though he wanted it. I liked being able to convince people to do things, especially if they didn't want to. It scared me a little sometimes how much I liked it. I loved my brother, but in my heart, I knew I loved myself more.

* * *

 **I still need a Six, Nine, and Twelve male! I've been trying to vet submissions but I'm impatient, so send anything in and I'll take it.**

 **Mark: Benjamin Pavard**

 **Dina: She has long, dark brown curly hair in a low ponytail with an olive skin tone. She has brown eyes and is about 5'7, so about an average height. She is of average weight, nearly slightly overweight.**

 **Hey random mean reviewer dude: Couple things.**

 **1: Caleb is most definitely not what you said, since he is married to a woman (or maybe they're still engaged?)**

 **2: This isn't even Caleb's story. You are not having a good day, are you?**


	8. Twelve Reapings

Aldous Bridge- District Twelve male

MONDAY

6:00- I got up and checked on my father, making sure he was breathing and hadn't drowned in vomit. I quietly stripped his bedding and tossed it into the corner to wash later.

6:15- I started making breakfast. I wiped the edges of Audrey's bowl to make sure there was no oatmeal stuck to the sides. If there was, she would screech and refuse to eat it, even if I removed the stuck oats.

6:30- Audrey came out and ate her breakfast. I brought my father his tiny portion. I would have given him more, but he never even ate what I gave him. He was too proud to admit he needed help eating.

7:00 I walked with Audrey to school and made sure she was settled in.

3:30- I got home and checked on my father.

3:35- I held the dustpan for Audrey because it was 3:35 and that was sweeping time.

4:00- I finished my homework.

4:30- I finished tidying the house.

5:00- I started making dinner.

6:00- Dinner.

8:00- Audrey showed me her rock collection.

8:30- Audrey went to bed.

9:00- I went to bed

TUESDAY

6:00- I got up and checked on my father, making sure he was breathing and hadn't drowned in vomit. His bedding was dry.

6:15- I started making breakfast. I wiped the edges of Audrey's bowl to make sure there was no oatmeal stuck to the sides. If there was, she would screech and refuse to eat it, even if I removed the stuck oats.

6:30- Audrey came out and ate her breakfast. I brought my father his portion.

7:00 I walked with Audrey to school and made sure she was settled in.

3:30- I got home and checked on my father.

3:35- I held the dustpan for Audrey because it was 3:35 and that was sweeping time.

4:00- I finished my homework

4:25- I finished tidying the house.

5:00- I started making dinner.

6:00- Dinner.

8:00- Audrey showed me her rock collection.

8:30- Audrey went to bed.

9:00- I went to bed

WEDNESDAY

6:00- I got up and checked on my father, making sure he was breathing and hadn't drowned in vomit. I quietly stripped his bedding and tossed it into the corner to wash later.

6:15- I started making breakfast. I wiped the edges of Audrey's bowl to make sure there was no oatmeal stuck to the sides. If there was, she would screech and refuse to eat it, even if I removed the stuck oats.

6:30- Audrey came out and ate her breakfast. I brought my father his portion

7:00 I walked with Audrey to school and made sure she was settled in.

3:30- I got home and checked on my father.

3:35- I held the dustpan for Audrey because it was 3:35 and that was sweeping time.

4:00- Audrey and I went shopping because Wednesday is grocery day.

5:00- I finished tidying the house.

5:05- I started making dinner.

6:00- Dinner.

8:00- Audrey showed me her rock collection.

8:30- Audrey went to bed.

9:00- I went to bed

THURSDAY

FRIDAY...

* * *

Theodosia "Theo" Mulroy- 17

 _It's okay. I'm not my sister. I don't have to end up like Erin._

Just because my sister died in the Bloodbath, that didn't mean I would. Erin was thirteen. I was seventeen. Seventeen-year-olds won the Games. It didn't have to be the same.

 _It will be all right when Dad gets here. Everything will be okay when Dad is here._

When my father came, I wished he hadn't. His eyes were glassy and dull, like a doll's. He was chewing on his nails, and his hands shook. His whole body shook, only stopping when he suddenly jerked, looking around with his head instead of his eyes. It was so unsettling that it took a moment for me to notice what was missing.

"Where's Mom?" I asked. I wouldn't blame her if she didn't want to show up. At the moment I wanted more than anything to hug my mother and have her tell me it would be okay, but if she couldn't bear to tell that lie again, I understood.

My father abruptly swiveled his head toward me, like an owl. He held out one hand like he was about to say something. He opened his mouth. His chest caught, then heaved, and he bent forward, panting heavily.

"Where's Mom?!" I asked again. _I changed my mind. I'll blame you if you don't come. Please, Mom, come save me._

"She's dead." He drew out the word, and his inflection rose at the end. A cold stillness came across me, and I watched in silence as he continued. "She took the rope and it pulled her up, and she didn't come down."

He was crying then, just like me. His slack face was tear-streaked, and his mouth twitched. It twitched, and pulled into something between a grimace and a lunatic grin.

"She's dead. Erin's dead. She's dead. Erin's dead. You're dying…"

" _Daddy!"_ I shrieked, holding my hands out toward him. I needed him to hold me, and tell me to be strong, and tell me it wasn't a big deal even though it was. I needed him to make me feel safe and _not be like this._

 _It will be all right when Dad is gone. Everything will be okay when Dad is gone._

* * *

 **Theo: shoulder length dirty blonde hair that has natural blonde streaks. Her eyes are blue/green, it depends what lighting you look at it in. She has thin lips and dimples.**

 **ALdous: black curly hair, that he usually likes to curl in the front, to make him look sort of geeky. He has astigmatism and has to often wear glasses, but doesn't like wearing them, and uses contacts instead. He has thin lips, and a straight nose and his eyes color are brown. He is 5 feet and 6 inches and weighs about 130lbs. He also has an ugly scar on his forehead, from an accident when he was 13.**

 **If you're one of the people asking if I need Bloodbaths, LAY THEM ON ME! I ain't got time to wait any more. I need a Six and a Nine male.**


	9. Nine Reaping

Dylan Buddard- District Nine male

The closet was a nice place to hide. There were old cardboard boxes and a few mismatched shoes that made the whole place smell like leather. There was a bag full of sample pantyhose that I could lean against as a seat. Best of all, there were no people.

It was 5:30 in the afternoon, and that meant rush hour. The richer people in Nine- the Peacekeepers or the Capitolites here on business- liked to eat late. Since a lot of them got off work half an hour ago, they usually went shopping until later, when restaurant rush hour started. Rich people sure loved shoes. Some of them came back multiple times a week and bought even more. They must have hundreds of pairs. They must need a whole house just for their shoes.

I wasn't a recluse or anything, but too many people is too many people. Everyone thinks they're shy because they get nervous meeting new people. Of _course_ they get nervous meeting new people! That's just the way humans are. I didn't like it either, and I had to do it every day, I always got nervous with all the fancy ladies and suit-wearing men wandering the store, asking questions about fashion and quality and things I didn't know about. When the crowds got too big and the store started getting stuffy, I retreated to the closet. It wasn't like the store couldn't run without me.

The door cracked open, and light flooded my little fort. I squinted up at my mother, who yelped when she saw me.

"What are you doing in here?" she asked with amusement. "You're not a shoe!"

"...Taking a break?" I said.

"Come on out and help us sell. Your Dad can barely keep up at the register," Mom said. She saw my hesitation and softened.

"It will be fine. I know it's weird, but they think it's cute," she said, referring to my problem. The problem being that sometimes, I sort of fainted. It was more of falling asleep, like my brain suddenly lost power and had to restart. It was like the worst superpower ever.

"It's not cute for me," I said as I got up.

"If it happens again, you can come back to the closet," Mom promised. I grumpily closed the door behind me and took my place next to my Dad boxing up purchases.

 _At least it would get me out of rush hour._

* * *

Joella Krame- District Nine female

Every village has the witch house. It's the one that's sort of run down, but in a way that makes you think it's meant to look like that. It's probably wood or brick, and there are vines growing up the walls. The yard has long, wild-looking grass, and there's definitely a garden. Usually it has a birdbath or sundial or some weird glass thing in the yard. The witch house was where the village witch lived. And I lived with her.

Melinda wasn't really a witch, but she embraced the aesthetic wholeheartedly. She had the stringy gray hair with flowers woven into it, and she wore the flowy skirts with sequins. She drank tea every day and used a straw broom. She did make an exception for Tansy, her cat. Tansy was very fat and very orange.

"It smells good," Challah said, rubbing some of the yellow powder between her fingers. Turmeric was both an antiseptic and an antibiotic, and it was much cheaper than Capitol medicine. I added more water to the paste as Melinda smeared it on Challah's cut arm.

"I'm coming here next time I get cut. This doesn't sting like the clinic stuff," Challah said. It was usually children or pregnant women who wandered into Melinda's house. Children came for the spicy cookies, tea, and Tansy. The pregnant women came because something about the timeless, feminine rituals of pregnancy put them closer in touch with their bodies, making them look for more natural remedies. Even though I wanted to be a "real" doctor someday, I would remember the holistic wellness Melinda provided.

"Just be glad I didn't use garlic. Though that _would_ keep the vampires away," Melinda said. "And how about you just don't get cut again?"

"Sorry," Challah said.

It felt almost lonely when Challah left. People came in and out all day, but none of them stayed. I had a District full of patients, but only one friend. Melinda was my only real family as well. My father hadn't yet caught on to the fact that women were humans, and he taught my brothers the same thing. My brothers got full financial support in their classes and certifications to become doctors. I got introduced to different rich men whose houses I could one day spend my life cleaning, then disowned for learning a few herbs. But when I walked past the clinic and saw them in there, I didn't feel cheated. They got everything handed to them. I was going to do it myself, and I would do it better. I traded up. Most girls could say they had a family. Not many girls could say they were a witch's apprentice.

* * *

 **Joella: Joella has medium brown skin and is pretty tall and lanky. She's leanly muscled as well. She has big, poofy dark brown hair that she always struggles to tame, and usually just leaves it in a messy bun. She prefers to wear comfortable clothing.**

 **Dylan: Half Causcian, half Native American. Stands at 5 feet and 3 inches. Has messy black hair, brown skin, and dark brown eyes. His nose is somewhat crooked and he's self-conscious about it.**


	10. Seven Reaping

**Guess who wrote two chapters yesterday so I could upload one today even though I have class?**

* * *

Cloelia "Cloey" Daleigh- District Seven female

It would be the highlight of any Panemian's life to visit the Capitol. It was the same for me, but for a different reason. I hadn't been whisked away to a life of fame and luxury. I was on a bench with seven other boys and girls my age to go through the ornate purpleheart wooden doors beside us and convince a panel of the toughest people in the nation that we deserved a chance to join them.

When my turn came, I stood up straight and checked myself over. My black pantsuit, selected and by my mentor Peacekeeper Riley, was smooth and free of lint. My hair was neatly collected into a bun so tight and uniform I could almost see myself in it. My toned muscles were apparent in the snug, tailored outfit. I looked as good as I ever would.

Inside the room, two men and one woman waited for me on the other side of a shiny ebony table. They rose as I entered, and I shook their hands in turn, firmly but not aggressively. They must have said something in greeting, but I was too nervous to remember.

"Miss Daleigh," one of the men said. "Please, take a seat." He indicated the comfortably padded carved chair. I laid my folder on the table as I sat, my hands clasped in my lap.

"My letters of recommendation," I said when they glanced at the folder. I slid it across the table to them, though of course they'd already seen them. I was told to bring copies for records. It hadn't been difficult to get them- in fact, I'd brought two more than the minimum of four. One was from Peacekeeper Riley, one was from her superior, one from a local politician, and three from various school teachers.

"Very nice," the woman said as she leafed through the letters. "And your scores in all other areas are also very impressive, or else you wouldn't be here. Now we'd like to know a little more about you as a person."

"What would you like to know?" I asked.

"What made you want to be a Peacekeeper?" the second man asked.

I paused only a second to finalize my mostly collected thoughts. "I want to be the best," I said. It was a great feat for a District youth to even catch a Peacekeeper's eye on their mostly ersatz recruiting sweeps. "I want to serve Panem and put others before myself. I want to step up into a leadership role and lead my country to better things."

The trio deliberated, casting glances at each other.

"What do you intend to accomplish with your career?" the woman asked.

"I'll rise in the ranks and become at least a Colonel," I said. There was another exchange of glances. I would have been nervous, but the time for being nervous was past. Whatever happened, I had the gratifying certainty that I'd done my utmost.

"One last question," the last man said. "Why should we pick you?"

It was an obvious question, so I'd prepared for it. I'd had time to set out a dozen strategies before settling on heartfelt, solid honesty.

"I've shown you all the reasons I have," I said, extending a hand toward the file. "The choice is yours."

* * *

Braddock "Brad" Simpson- District Seven male

"Wonder who it will be this year," Logan mused as we chopped the tree we'd just felled into manageable lengths.

"Probably someone no one cares about," I said. "It usually is."

"Brad! Everyone has someone who cares about them," Rowan said, and he was so shocked he missed the trunk and buried his axe in the dirt.

"Right. Probably it will be someone I don't care about," I said.

"Well, as long as it doesn't effect you, I guess it doesn't matter," Logan said.

"Like you feel any differently," I said. "Every year you hope it's not someone you care about, don't you? And most of all you hope it's not you."

"Most of us are at least decent enough not to say it," Logan said.

"I'm decent enough to tell it like it is," I said.

"And what if it is you?" Rowan asked.

"I'd kill anyone I had to and I'd win," I said.

"Must be lucky to be perfect," Rowan said.

"Cut the crap. The proof's in the pudding," I said, pointing at the trunk. We'd started at the same time, but my section was almost entirely cut through, while Rowan's was barely halfway. "I'm stronger than you. I'm smarter than both of you. You're lucky we can't get Reaped together."

"You want some honesty? This is why no one likes you," Logan said.

"You want some honesty? That's why I don't care," I said, pointing back at the log.

Finally, I thought when I got home. I work hard all day, and when the whistle blows, I get to play hard. All I wanted was some time to rest, some good food, and to have a good time. I didn't understand why that was so difficult.

"Really?" I asked when I saw my favorite shirt on top of the pile of dirty clothes in the washtub.

"I didn't get to it yet. I've been busy," Sienna said.

"You need to manage your time better," I said. My little sister only worked half days. The assumption was that she'd be able to do housework. If she couldn't do her job, she shouldn't get to cut out early.

"It will be done soon," my mother broke in. "Don't pick on your sister."

"I'm just being honest," I said. If no one told people what they were doing wrong, they'd never get better. Obviously someone hadn't been getting that done.

"And the roof is still leaky," I commented within my father's earshot.

"You're welcome to fix it," he said.

I huffed and sat down on the wooden couch on the porch. I spend all day busting my butt in the lumber yards, and I can't even relax after work. I was a good guy. I only asked for a few things. Was that so much?

* * *

 **Brad: Brad is your typical straight white boy. He has pale skin, brown eyes, and medium-length dark brown hair. He is very tall, strong, and buff from chopping lumber in the woods.**

 **Cloey: Mid-height, built sturdy, not very curvy. When exerting herself she is visibly muscular. Her hair is straight, thick, dark brown and just past her shoulders, usually worn in a tight bun. She has light grey-blue eyes, which are her closest thing to a striking feature, and an unremarkable face. She is tan from her outdoor life.**

 **These turned out longer, which wasn't intentional but I do keep an eye on it. Reapings tend to be short, and then POVs get longer during the Capitol chapters.**

 **I just realized I forgot some important suggested categories in my form! If you want to send in any of these for your character, they'll be welcomed, but you don't have to**

 **Development during Games**

 **Interview angle**

 **One word to sum up Tribute**

 **P.S. Cloey wasn't accepted to the Peackeeper Academy because they didn't have any slots, so she volunteered as the next best thing.**


	11. Three Reaping

Martyna Stark- District Three female

 _If school suddenly blew up, I wouldn't have to show my parents my report card._

Of course I didn't want my school to actually blow up. People would get hurt. And education, and blah blah… really I only cared about the people. Education was a lost cause.

"Ready?" Cynder asked.

"As ready as ever," I said.

"I got a B on that one test," Data fretted.

"The one everyone else failed?" I asked. "Even if you got 50%, you'd still get an A. That's the whole point of a bell curve."

"Why are you more worried than Martyna?" Cynder asked.

"Because I am safely insulated in the comforting knowledge of my mediocrity," I said. And I _wasn't_ worried, because it was nothing I hadn't done before. I just wished I could be somewhere else when my parents freaked out again.

 _I_ told _you it was a waste to send me to private school,_ I thought. _I have a public school brain._ If they'd just let me be me, I could be out doing P.E. like the normal girls, or working an honest job in the factories, or doing anything other than waiting for more confirmation of what I already knew.

"Gonna ruin report card day again?" Archimedia butted in.

"I do my best," I said, but my big sister had gotten to me. I didn't mind being normal, but I hated how upset my parents got. There were so many things I wished I'd said last time, but report card day was the one day I couldn't bring myself to speak. I just took it silently and meekly promised to do better next time.

"Wow, rude," Cynder said, wrinkling her nose at Archimedia. "Why don't you go be superior somewhere else?"

Archimedia stuck her tongue out at me as she left. She didn't really mean to hurt me, so I wasn't really hurt. It was easy for her to talk about good grades and parental approval. It came easy to her, and to all my sisters. I was the only one that, when my mother talked about me to her friends, she said 'Martyna's so sweet and friendly' instead of 'Martyna's so smart'. Which was okay with me. Smart you're born with, but sweet is something you can make for yourself.

I looked out the window, at the neon lights and sleek sidewalks that made the whole District look like virtual reality. There was so much more out there than a schoolhouse. There was so much more in the world than being smart. A wild, giddy idea came to me, as quickly as Archimedia saw the answer to an equation.

"You wanna play hooky?" I asked.

"There's only an hour of school left," Data said, her worry over her grades replaced with confusion.

"So maybe they won't be as mad," I said. The bell rang for the ten-minute break between classes, like a sign from above. I shoved my stuff into my desk, since I wasn't going to be back. Cynder and Data followed me as I slipped out of the building, Data glancing guiltily over her shoulder.

It was weird being out when most kids our age were in school. There were a few young people around, which was depressing. I was privileged, but I knew enough to know those were the ones who dropped out to support their families. They never got to do what we were doing now.

My parents would find out about my report card tomorrow, but today I was doing what I wanted. I was having a good time with my friends, riding around on the subway and watching the skyscrapers and billboards streak by. Three was an exceptional District, and I played a very important part. There can't be any 'exceptional' unless something is average.

* * *

Coil Oxida- District Three male

Professor Terra walked to the board, took out his stylus, and started to write.

 _INTRODUCTION TO HEXADECIMAL_

"Good morning, class," he said, turning to face us. "Today we'll be learning the hexadecimal system. You're already familiar with the decimal, or base ten, system, since that's what we use to count. Hexadecimal is pretty much the same, except it's base _sixteen."_ He wrote the numbers one through nine on the board.

"Hexadecimal starts just like base ten. Once we reach nine, that's when it changes. Instead of ten, it goes to A. Eleven is B, all the way to fifteen, which is F." He wrote the numbers and letters on the board as he spoke.

"What's sixteen?" Telly immediately asked.

 _10,_ Professor Terra wrote on the board.

"That's ten," Telly objected.

"In base ten it's ten," Professor Terra said. "In hexadecimal, it's sixteen. That's because where base ten has a tens place, base sixteen has a sixteens place. In decimal, one-zero means one ten and zero ones. In hexadecimal, it means one sixteen and zero ones."

I peeked at my classmates and saw most of them were totally confused. It was like trying to run Babbage hardware on a Lovelace system.

"So… seventeen is eleven?" Geiger asked.

"It's written as one-one, yes," Professor Terra said.

 _What about twenty-six? AHA!_

"And twenty-six is one-A?" I asked.

"Exactly!" Professor Terra brightened.

"I don't get it," Telly said when Professor Terra released us a few minutes later to study amongst ourselves.

"It's okay. It's way easier than it looks. I'll help you," I said. I started drawing out a grid with numbers and letters.

"Just imagine sixteen is the most important number. You count to sixteen, and then you start all over. You go 'one, two…' all the way to sixteen, and then you start the numbers again as 'one sixteen and one' and go from there," I said, pointing out the numbers.

"Why are all the letters there?" Telly asked.

"They're just symbols because we're using decimal digits and there are only ten of those. It could have been anything," I said.

"So what would… 3D be?" Telly asked.

I added a few numbers in my head and found the answer. "Sixty-one."

"How do you know?"

"The three means there are three sixteens, so that's forty-eight. The D is the same as thirteen in decimal. Forty-eight plus thirteen is sixty-one," I said.

"What if they're both numbers and not letters?" Telly asked.

"So, like, fourteen? That would be one sixteen plus four. Twenty," I said.

"That makes a little sense. It's really weird, though," Telly said.

"It's like your hands. You have ten fingers, so you count to ten and then you have one set of hands plus however many more fingers, right? If you had sixteen fingers, you'd count to sixteen and then have one set of hands plus more fingers," I said. I saw Terra's eyes start to light up and went on. "Both numbers are the exact same thing. They just have different bases."

"How do you always understand things so fast?" Telly asked, sounding impressed.

"It wasn't that hard. It's just confusing at first. Some people understand things faster, and some people take longer. It doesn't make me smarter, because maybe I don't understand it as well as the person who took longer. I just means I'm faster at this one thing."

* * *

 **Martyna:** Of Polish (generally Eastern European) descent, with wavy dirty blonde hair that is often kept in a high ponytail. She has a heart-shaped face with pale clear skin. Her crystal blue eyes are surrounded and framed by a sunken area which provides more depth.

 **Coil: Black hair, ashy skin, and glasses (which he needs- they're not for fashion). He is skinny and lanky and he is usually looking around and darting from place to place.**

 **Now you all know hexadecimal! You're welcome. My apologies if I got it wrong, since I didn't know it until five minutes ago.**


	12. Six and Ten males

Falcon Jacobs- District Ten male

Most people aren't relieved to go to the Reaping.

Then again, most people didn't go to the Reaping with a Peacekeeper escort, since most people didn't go from jail. Whatever the Reaping carried with it, the future wasn't as bad as my past.

Everyone knew I hadn't meant it, but that didn't matter. The houses were still gone, the cattle were still destroyed, and old widow Pryor was still dead. It hurt my soul that something as beautiful and limitless as fire could be so destructive. I should have been careful- I should have known my limits. I was just so curious. I wanted to see how long I could keep it going, and how high the smoke would go. It must have been in the next District by now. Little wisps of it were still going.

One time, I saw a woman get executed for breaking a window and stealing an apple. I would have wondered what horrible thing they'd do to a murderer, but I suspected it was more mundane. They'd just kill me too.

I was the only one in the crowd who wasn't scared, since I had nothing to lose. My thoughts, unclouded by terror and panic, were free to keep running, and my mind wandered as the speeches droned on.

 _Wonder what it's like in the Capitol. Fluvius always looks so festive. It must be very colorful. I bet there are lots of people there, and I bet they're friendly. There must be so much cool stuff._

The thought came naturally. I was only out of jail because law required that I be processed at the Reaping center. As soon as they picked the names, I'd be hustled off back to jail until it was time for my trial. Until the trial came, I'd be back in the cell with the drug dealers and the gang members and the one tattooed guy who kept staring at me and trying to get me alone. Assuming I lived until the trial, I'd be sentenced to death. There was nothing at all waiting for me once this was over.

 _Or…_

A gun with twenty-three bullets in twenty-four chambers is better than a firing squad. The Capitol is a lot nicer than jail. I always did want to know how the lucky people lived.

"Do we have any volunteers?" Fluvius asked. We hadn't had a volunteer since that kid who said his neighbor's dog told him to do it.

"I volunteer as Tribute!"

* * *

Kaulan Kippton- District Six male

 _What kind of boy is worried the least_

 _On the day he knows he might die?_

 _The kind of boy who pretends he's not nervous_

 _And is relieved to no longer try_

 _When he stands with the boys in the whispering crowd_

 _Each one waiting to hear his own name_

 _Thoughts that he's never verb'lly avowed_

 _Tell him that he's who's to blame_

 _Each buried sin and each old transgression_

 _Burns in his soul and convicts him_

 _It's far too late now for any confession_

 _To change from the way this depicts him_

 _Does it even matter if he gets away?_

 _He feels so jejune and phlegmatic_

 _For months now his life has seemed tiring and gray_

 _Maybe death won't be all that traumatic_

 _Why is the first thing he's felt in so long_

 _The mortal and primitive terror_

 _He feels at the sight of the bowl of glass_

 _And the Capitolite woman its bearer?_

 _The second her painted lips form 'round his name_

 _Is the second he most wants to live_

 _The paper flits mocking along with the wind_

 _Deadly as Death's vorpal scythe_

 _Boys part as the ghost walks to the stage_

 _Each blessing his own stroke luck_

 _He opens his mouth to give vent his rage_

" _FFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKK!_

* * *

 **Kaulan's is so short because his form said he likes to write poems, and that seemed like a cool way to set him apart.**

 **Falcon:** **He's tall at five feet and ten inches, and he has rich, short-ish dark brown hair that he never really tries to take care of. He's pretty tanned and has a muscled frame, and he has rich green eyes.**

 **Kaulan:** **Black messy very short hair, 1.83 meters tall, dark brown eyes, fair skin, average size. And a lot of acne.**

 **I still need the females from this District. After I get them and the Eleven male, I'll be set to start Capitol chapters!**


	13. A Surprise Opportunity

Turns out the Ten female was open, since Aceswims actually sent a Twelve female and not the Ten female I randomly had ascribed to her (She sent Theodosia, so I must have accidentally double-listed her). Since I am raring to rip, you have until I finish writing this Bloodbath form and POV I'll be starting as soon as I update this to send me a Ten female. Quality is not a consideration, so you can send whatever, or even send an abbreviated form and fill it in later.

Rhoda Hamilton- Victor

 _Wow, we're such a mixed bag. The coldest among us isn't even a Career, and one of the nicest of us_ is. _We finally have someone from every District, which is nice. Now I get to meet people from all over Panem._


	14. Ten female

**You all got so lucky! I was on the last paragraph of my POV when my roommate called me away to be a model for her photoshoot. Historia was the first one I got so here she is. All I need now is the six female from Birkarandareader.**

* * *

Historia Brunby- District Ten female

Pregnancy was nature's prank. Not that _I_ was pregnant. Ew, no! Just pregnancy in general. How icky and goopy it is, and how everyone swears something is pretty that looks like a raisin.

Horse babies were a little prettier than human babies, but the foal was looking pretty ugly at the moment. It was still covered in juice, and only its front legs and head stuck out of Burgoo Queen's butt. Capitolites had weird names for their racing horses. _I_ wanted to name her Clementine.

"Come help us pull," my sister Tina chided. Burgoo Queen was a finely pedigreed horse, which meant she'd been bred every which way to be faster. That must have given her smaller hips, because she was having a hard time pooping out her baby.

"Yuck, I don't wanna touch that," I said, but I joined in. A grabbed a slimy handful of foal and gently tugged. Burgoo Queen swished me in the face with her tail, but it wasn't on purpose. She probably wasn't gleeful at the moment either.

"How's it going?" Our father asked from the prettier end of Burgoo Queen.

"It's almost past the front legs," Tina said. Burgoo Queen pushed and her butt puckered out, pushing the foal out a few more inches. It slid out quicker after that, and its hind legs peeked out of the pink.

"Oh my gosh!" I gasped.

"What?" my father asked.

"It only has three legs!" I wailed. A racing horse with _three legs?_ Ridiculous! We were ruined! Selling the foal was supposed to provide for us for months. No one would pay for a three-legged racehorse! And worse, once word got out that Burgoo Queen was passing on defects, no one would want to breed with us.

"Don't worry," Tina said in an bored tone. "She's just pranking us."

"Oh, there's the other leg," I said, since I was busted. "Never mind." _Now would you hurry up and come out? I got stuff to not do._

It was anticlimactic when the foal finally popped out. It sat on the ground in a puddle of goop as Burgoo Queen licked it off, which was nasty.

"You're such a kid," Tina said, referring to my prank.

"Well _you're_ such a grownup," I said. Some people just don't get jokes. If you can't see the humor in pulling a horse out of another horse's butt, I can't help you.

* * *

Hlenn Rambutan- District Eleven female

"I am not feeling it today," Nakia said as we picked peaches under a baking sun. Not that we were ever 'feeling it', but it seemed like an especially arduous day.

I started humming a discordant little tune, full of key changes and creepy minor chords. As they came to me, I added in words.

"A peach

A little orb of amber sweetness

A peach

Life and succour around a poison pit

A peach

Deaths-head skull surrounded by golden treasure

A peach

A seed for tomorrow and meal for today"

"You're so weird. But that's why I love you," Nakia said when I was done. I dropped a peach down to her and climbed out of the empty tree. On my way down, something caught my eye.

"Look," I said, and Nakia and I pressed in closer. An empty cicada shell was stuck to the branch, its phantom claws still grabbing the wood.

"It's so cool," Nakia said. "I love bugs." Nakia was the only girl I knew who saw one of those disgusting house centipedes and tried to catch it as a pet.

"Some Natives have cicadas as totems," I said. "They symbolize birth and longevity. They say you're a good communicator if you have a cicada totem."

"Of course," Nakia said. "That doesn't take a wise man." Meaning, of course, that cicadas were loud as chainsaws when they all buzzed at night.

I didn't have a totem, but if I did, I would want a cicada or a bat. From my folklore phase, I remembered both of them symbolized death and rebirth. They were mysterious, nightbound creatures, and I always thought there was more to them than humans could see. My death phase had never really passed. I was still fascinated by morbid or ephemeral things, like the dessicated shell of an insect that still lived somewhere. Maybe it was because there was so much death in Eleven. But then, there was the same amount of death anywhere else.

It wasn't only death that drew me to the cicada. Cicadas made their death into something better. They came out stronger and flew away. I wondered if humans were like that. Every culture had tales of afterlives and rituals. Someday we'd all find out which one was really true.

* * *

 **Historia: brown hair, brown eyes, chubby cheeks and tall for her age.**

 **IMPORTANT NOTE! Okay, I think I misattributed the Eleven male. Here we go again- send one in and he's in! I legit don't even care if you send the same form and gender-swap it.**


	15. Last Two

Trigger Warning: Child abuse

* * *

Mak Jonson- District Eleven male

"Where's your backpack?" my father asked when I came in the house from school, rubbing blood from my nose and sniffling.

"Some boys from school shoved me down and took it," I said. Most kids might have been indignant, but I was just scared. I wasn't scared of the boys. I just knew how tight money was and how angry my father got when I lost things.

"And you let them?" he asked, getting up from his chair. I hated it when he moved. I wished he would just stay in bed all day.

"There were three of them," I said.

"Little brat, do you have any idea what that backpack cost?" my father said. He checked out the window, but no one was there.

"I tried to stop them," I said.

I knew it was coming, so I had time to tense my stomach. He always hit where no one could see it. As I knelt on the floor sucking in painful breaths, my father turned away.

"Then try harder next time. Hurt them like I just hurt you. All there is in the world is people who take what they want and people who get taken. I won't have my son be a coward."

He was heading toward his room. That meant either the bottle on his nightstand or the belt in his closet. They both led to the same thing. As soon as he was out of range, I opened the door and bolted out. I heard him yelling, but I knew he was too lazy to come after me. Sometimes when I ran, it was worse when I got back, but usually he'd forgotten.

 _Eight years later_

"Give it to me," I snarled at the boy pulling a wagon of tesserae.

"But my family needs this. It's all we have to eat," he said.

"What do I care? You should have figured something out. You know why I never sign up for tesserae? I take what I want," I said. Just another pearl of wisdom from my old man. I wondered what he was up to nowadays. I hadn't seen him since I was fourteen. For years I'd been waiting until the day I was big enough to be the one doing the hitting. That last day, he came at me and I almost killed him. He was only still alive because I didn't want to deal with the Peacekeepers.

"Please," the boy said, tears in his eyes.

I grabbed his arm and tossed him sideways. "Get out of here before I give you something to cry about," I said. I looked over my shoulder at the boy crying on the ground. He looked pathetic.

* * *

Adira Baelyn- District Six female

"The Capitolites are coming today," Tyra whispered at breakfast.

"They're not really coming. They don't care about us," Dopple said.

"They _are._ Teacher said so. Didn't she?" Tyra asked, looking at me.

I ate my oatmeal and said nothing. I didn't know anything about Capitolites, but I knew no one was coming to help us. I didn't need them, anyway. I could do things myself.

The workers made us all take baths, so _something_ was happening. I didn't believe it until I saw them come in the door.

I'd never seen anything like the Capitolites. They had all different color skin and rainbow hair and glitter-filled eyes. If I'd been one of the littler kids, I might have thought they were fairies. They even acted like fairies. They swooped in like a blizzard and remade the entire orphanage. They fixed the leaky roof and put in new carpets and walls and redecorated all our rooms.

"I get to _keep_ this?" Tyra asked when one of them handed her a quilt with rainbow kittens on it.

"Of course!" the woman said in that strange way they all talked, like everything was a joke. "What about you, sweetie?" she asked me. "Which one do you like?"

"I'm okay," I said. I waited until she was out of the room to pick the one I wanted- the pale blue one with white water lilies.

I spent most of the three days the Capitolites were with us watching them work. There was so much different about them, from their clothes to their odd facial expressions. When they were leaving, I felt like I'd brushed with royalty.

"Why did you do all this?" I asked. It was only the second thing I'd said to any of them.

"Because everyone in Panem is equal!" the man said.

I'd heard people say that before, but these Capitolites were the only people I'd met who actually made it happen. They didn't look down on me for being poor or pity me for being an orphan. They helped me and made me their equal, using their own time and money to do it. That must be why the Capitol runs everything. They were the best people in Panem.

In the years after that, my biggest sadness was that I'd never get to see the Capitol for real. I worked as hard as I could to bring back money for the orphanage, hoping maybe they'd hear about it and invite me to live with them. Nothing ever came of it, but it was the only dream I allowed myself to have.

When my name was picked out of the bowl, I felt conflicted. On the one hand, this meant I got to see the Capitol. On the other, this wasn't the way I wanted to do it. I had plans in place, and I would have gotten there myself. I'd wanted to pick the moment and do things correctly, not just randomly get chosen. Being in the Games meant a lot of things would be out of my control, which I didn't like. But in the end, I was more happy than not. Even if it wasn't the way I wanted things to happen, it meant I was going to see them again, and sooner than I thought. I couldn't wait to see my rescuers again.

* * *

 **At last, we're done!**

 **Mak:** dark skin, thin lips, dark brown eyes, 2.00 meters tall and very athletic.

Adira: Adira has long brown hair, dark skin, a tall, willowy frame, is five feet and 9 inches. She has almost a regal persence about her, and doesn't usually smile, but makes people think that she is very regal and interesting.


	16. Strangers on a Train

Blake Armani- District One mentor

One had been getting a lot of weird Tributes lately. Somehow, in a District where people were falling over each other to volunteer, we managed to get people who didn't.

"Um, carry on, I guess. If you don't want to join the Career, I suggest camouflage and survival skills," I told Bronze.

"I use a sword and a bow," Rose said. "Do you think I should learn anything else?"

"I hear you're fast," I said. "That can be everything. Do interval running to build up your stamina and speed." All three of us knew who the contender was.

* * *

Pray Jager- District Two mentor

"You again."

Valerian grinned back at me, hunched over the table with her head jutted forward cheekily.

"Excuse me, weren't you there when I got picked?" she asked.

"I stayed home. I was too scared to watch." She knew I was sarcastic, since that was the only time I would _ever_ use 'scared' to describe myself.

"You know you were hoping I'd get picked."

"Well, you're not wrong. And what about you?" I asked Kio. "Here to make up for her?"

"She didn't do anything to be ashamed of. I just hope I get luckier," he said.

"Luck has nothing to do with it."

* * *

Gidget Ford- District Three mentor

"You know how everyone in Three is smart? I'm kind of… not," Martyna said.

"Me, too, honestly," I said. "I'm pretty normal."

"Yeah, same," Coil said.

"Didn't you skip three grades?" Martyna asked.

"Preschool, kindergarten and first grade," Coil said. "Those are the easy ones."

"Well, now that we've established we're all dumb, let's see if one of us can win," I said.

"One of us already did," Martyna said.

"Wow, look at Miss Smartypants over here."

* * *

Careen Ellis- District Four mentor

"I volunteered so I could provide for my brother," Antonia said.

"Working at the cannery wasn't good enough?" I asked. "I don't want to be rude, but your idea of a secure future was the kid's provider having a 23/24 chance of dying?"

"Well… too late now," Antonia admitted.

"How does this work?" Mahi asked, tinkering with the little button under the table. Not ten seconds later, an attendant walked in.

"You rang?" he asked.

"What? Oh, that's what this does," Mahi said to the man. "Hey, how does this work?"

* * *

Shane Donegal- District Four mentor

"I don't know."

"I don't know."

"I don't know."

I never knew there were so many questions I hadn't asked. Mahi was going to make sure he corrected them all.

"What's the most efficient way to kill people?" Antonia asked. That one I knew the answer to, unfortunately.

"That's more Careen's wheelhouse," I said. "I'm more geared toward the ones who didn't volunteer.

"Oh, I volunteered," Mahi said, and my burgeoning fondness for him shriveled.

"Oh."

* * *

Erwin Jackson- District Five mentor

Mark was the most unbearably positive Tribute I'd gotten in a long time. Why couldn't they send me the grumps? Then we'd at least match.

"It's better to be cheerful. Why would you _want_ to be sad?" he argued.

"It's better to assume the worst so you're right or pleasantly surprised," I said.

"You're still here. That means you haven't killed yourself, which means you want to live. If you _want_ to keep going, why would you want to be miserable?" Mark said.

I wished he didn't have a good point. "Some people are just too scared."

"Well you better go or get off the pot," Mark said. "Life is what you make it. Get busy living or get busy dying."

* * *

Sky Levings- District Five mentor

Every year was a conflict between teaching kids to do what I regretted most in my life and letting them die. Dina was making it hard. She'd never live if I didn't tell her what I knew, but I sensed a little of myself in her. Specifically, the part that did something she regretted. She had a chance to win, but the way she'd have to do it… I didn't know if I felt guiltier not telling her, or telling her.

* * *

Lancia Audren- District Six mentor

Every year, I made a plan for my two mentees. I tailored it to their needs, and so far… well, no one had won, but we'd gotten a lot farther than we used to. I took a look at the pair and sized them up.

"Okay, both of you need to carb load. Especially you, Adira. Drink lots of milk and take calcium and iron supplements in the Capitol. Alternate anaerobic exercise with cooldowns to build up muscle mass fast. Kaulan, are you depressed a lot?"

"I guess so," he said, like it wasn't written all over him by the way he was reacting to all this with exhaustion and not any real emotion.

"Get lots of sunlight and antioxidants. The rest is up to a doctor," I said. I couldn't give their hearts what they needed to win, but I could make sure their bodies were ready.

* * *

Hades Rodriguez- District Seven mentor

"I don't really know how to win. I kind of got lucky," I said.

"Great. A lot of good you are," Brad said.

Cloey looked at him in shocked confusion. "That's how you treat your mentor?"

"That's how I treat anyone who can't help me," Brad said. He got up and left the train car.

"I heard you were going to be a Peacekeeper. You're probably already readier than I was," I said to Cloey.

"I know what I have to do, but I can't do much here. Hey, what kind of lizard is that?" she asked.

"He's a chameleon. They don't change colors as much as people think, but…"

* * *

Tillo Peters- District Eight

"Hey, I'm Tillo, and I'll be your mentor today."

"Yikes. You don't have to be if you don't want," Max said.

"Unfortunately, I do. Not that I don't like you. If I didn't like you, I wouldn't be sad I have to do this," I said.

"I'd like to get lots of sponsors. Can you help me with that?"

"I'll do what I can, but I have to admit I'm not very likeable. You a politician or something?"

"Sort of," Max said.

"And I'm sort of a mom," Isabelline said.

"You better forget that. Being nice to people won't get you anywhere, especially being nice to the wrong people. This is exactly the time to start living for yourself," I said. Isabelline seemed shocked at first, but her face changed as she thought about it. I wasn't even saying it to be cynical. I was just being honest.

* * *

Nassor Doyle- District Nine mentor

They sent me a kid with narcolepsy. This was the kind of story that ended in a feel-good underdog victory, except it wasn't a story. Dylan was going to die.

It broke my heart, but I'd spent enough time with the Victors to know about triage. There was nothing I could do for Dylan, but Joella had a chance.

"You have defense covered. For offense, a spear is the easiest to learn," I said. We discussed it for a while. I could tell Joella was about to ask me why I wasn't engaging Dylan more, but then our eyes met, and the question died inside her.

* * *

Bambi Kirkland- District Ten mentor

Falcon burned down half of Ten. The news had made it sound like he was a crazy firebug, but he looked pretty normal to me.

"I didn't mean to," he said before I even asked. "Not that it matters, but I didn't mean to."

"I did mean to. I can't really judge anyone," I said.

"Mean to what?" Historia asked.

"Kill people," Falcon said for me.

"That doesn't count. You had to," Historia said.

"You really think so?" I asked.

"Cross my heart."

* * *

Calvary Warsaw- District Ten mentor

I didn't know why Rose always insisted on coming along with me to meet the new Tributes. Sometimes it turned out for the better, when she took a shine to one and sent them exorbitant gifts in the Arena. Other times she got temperamental and sent mutts that just "happened" to target them.

"Hi. I'm a henweigh," Historia said when she met Rose.

"What's a henweigh?" Rose asked.

"About five pounds," Historia said. Rose looked at her in befuddlement, then laughed.

"I like this one," she said. _Good. Makes my job easier._

* * *

Frankie Disney- District Eleven male

"What's the best way to kill people?" Mak asked.

"The best way is not to," I said.

"Cut the crap. I want to get out of here," Mak said.

"I don't think I want to help you," I said.

"You have to! You're my mentor," Mak said. Even I could tell he was getting angry.

"I think you're mistaken," I said.

"You're making a big mistake," Mak said, and he leaned into my personal space.

"Are you trying to scare me? You have the wrong guy," I said.

"Sorry about him," Hlenn said. It was the first time she'd spoken. Until then, she'd been distracted looking all around and out the windows.

"I'm used to it. Anything I can help you with?" I asked.

She hesitated. "I know this is kind of sensitive, but you're… pretty stable. I kind of want to know… what's it like to die?"

* * *

Nubu Sanders- District Twelve mentor

Aldous was wringing his hands under the table and kept looking behind him, at the end of the train.

"Is something wrong?" I asked. _Other than the usual._

"My sister Audrey is going to worry about me. She doesn't like when things change," he said.

"I'm sure she'll be okay," I fibbed.

"I take care of her. She doesn't have anyone to watch her now," he said.

"I'll send someone to check on her," I said, and he looked better right away. I turned my attention to Theo, who was staring rigidly at the wall.

"Are you okay?" I asked. Cold silence vibrated in the train for several seconds.

"My father said I was going to die," she said dully. She turned to look at me. "I thought my father was strong."

I knew what she needed, and it was the hardest thing in the world for me. She needed me to be strong, and not cry. She needed me, and I would be strong for her.


	17. Careers

Rose O'Durren- District One female

Bronze wasn't one of us. Kio ditched us for a bunch of outlier boys. It was for the best. We didn't need halfhearted Careers. We didn't need stupid Careers either, and any Career who wasn't smart enough to at least fake enthusiasm instead of outing himself right away as a target wasn't worth our time. I only thanked them for joining up with weak allies so we could pick them off right away and take out our biggest threats.

I wasn't sure about the girl swinging a katana like a maniac. She was wearing cat ears, and she seemed a lot more… gleeful than most Academy students I knew.

"Ooh, you must be rounding up the Career pack. Hope you saved me a spot," Valerian said when she saw me coming.

"Are you going to take it seriously?" I asked.

"I've been training all my life. I'm ready to slay some bodies," she said. "Just because this is my job doesn't mean I can't enjoy it. Why would I do this if it wasn't fun?"

There was a lot to like about Valerian. She wore her heart on her sleeve, so I wouldn't have to worry about duplicity. I wasn't dumb enough to think she wouldn't turn on me, but I had the feeling she'd want it to be 'fun', and it's not fun to stab people in the back. She'd tell me straight to my face and shake my hand if I outfought her.

 _Well, at least things will never get boring._

For once, both the pair from Four were in. Lately they'd been putting up some pretty weak Tributes. Antonia seemed capable, and Mahi seemed like he'd be good for guard duty and such. He was learning all the weird stuff like knot tying, so he'd be useful if something weird came up. It would be pretty embarrassing if all the Careers died because no one thought to learn fishing or navigation.

After our members were gathered, one thing was clear: I was, at least for the time being, the leader. Valerian just wanted to fight, Mahi was too weird, and Antonia was holding her cards close for the moment. Leadership was often not so enviable as it seemed. The rewards could be greater, but so could the risks. Heavy is the head that wears the crown.

* * *

Valerian Mercury- District Two female

Rose was a buzzkill. That girl needed a good bottle or a good lay. Maybe both, but she wasn't really doing it for me. Oh well, plenty of weird rainbow fish in the Capitol.

"Let's be real. We're not going to learn anything we don't already knew. You all want to go have some fun?" I asked when we regrouped near the end of the night.

"I'm in," Mahi said.

"We're here to train," Rose objected.

"Teamwork is part of training, right? Before we all kill each other, we have to work together. Let's get to know each other," I said. And that's how we ended up in the One lounge, some of us half-drunk and some of us all drunk.

"All right. Why'd y'all volunteer?" I asked. _Heh, Career icebreakers._

"For the challenge," Rose said.

"You're full of it," I said. Fancy Pants Ice Princess didn't want us to know her real reason, but it sure wasn't that.

"To provide for my nephew," Antonia.

"That's respectable," Mahi said. "I just got chosen and felt kind of silly backing out."

"Me, I wanted to kill people. We all do, don't we? I just admit it," I said.

"I don't see why anyone would want to do this regularly," Rose said, fiddling with her drink. She hadn't known what anything was at first. I took over and ordered up something as stiff and upper-crust as she was: a Cosmopolitan.

"If you don't know, I can't help you," I said.

"What do you think the Arena will be?" Antonia asked.

"It hasn't been too long since the last weird one, so I think it will be normal," Mahi said.

"Who do you think will bite it first of us?" I asked.

"Mahi," Rose said.

"Wow, shots fired!" Antonia said.

" _Rude._ But it could happen," Mahi admitted.

"It could be me. I'm not always the brightest," I said. "If it is, tell my mama I loved her."

* * *

Mahi Arapaima- District Four male

No one was in the library, which was sad. All those books wanting to share their knowledge, and no one was listening. I'd take care of that.

There was a lot of good stuff for a Career in the books. There were books on wilderness survival and pictures of all the plants I could eat. I could learn those things from the assistants, but this way no one would know I'd been studying.

It was cozy in the library, with no one but me and the books. I hadn't had so much time to read since I was a little kid reading picture books. I'd hate to think the poor library never got any visitors.

After I was done reading, I visited Shane. He definitely didn't like that I'd volunteered, but he seemed to get that I wasn't as into it as some people.

"How does all this stuff work?" I asked about the food chutes.

"It goes to the kitchen, where synthesizers make the food," he said.

"And that all comes from the Districts," I said to myself. "But if there's so much stuff here, wouldn't it be easy to make all of Panem a little richer?"

"There's plenty of supplies in Panem. They're just not easily spread," Shane said.

"Why don't they put synthesizers in the Districts?" I asked.

"We don't have an infinite supply of food," Shane said.

"You just said we have enough," I said.

"Look, kid… I don't even know. I don't know how any of this stuff works," Shane admitted.

"You've been here this long and you never even asked?"

* * *

Antonia Alix da Costa- District Four female

Seeing Aldous and Historia and all of them turned my stomach. That wasn't what I came here to do. I wanted to take care of my family and I would do what I had to, but that part made me hate myself. Every time I looked at them, I saw Niklas. I saw what he would be one day, if no one killed him first. I told myself I valued life, but I picked and chose who I protected. When he grew up, he would never be able to look to me as a role model. I wouldn't want him to turn out like me.

Late at night, things always seemed worse. It was harder to push past those thoughts and remind myself that everyone had to do things they didn't want to. I wondered if all volunteers felt that way. I knew Shane did, and Rhoda didn't seem as enthusiastic as she used to be, either. Shelle admitted she'd lost faith in the Academy long ago, and Careen accepted that part of her past but didn't really dwell on it. Probably the only one of us who was completely at peace with herself was Pray.

My aura was spotted with muddy blue and indigo, so conspicuously I didn't even need a mirror to see it. Indigo related to my third eye, which I didn't really believe in, but I got the idea behind the mysticism. It referred to my deeper thoughts and inner turmoil, and the blue meant fear of the future or speaking the truth. I knew it wasn't just me being emotional, either. Everyone is more prone to musing at night. In the daytime, things would look better.

Half an hour later, when I still couldn't sleep, I turned on my side and did something I hadn't done since I was five years old.

 _Um, hey. This is Antonia. I don't really know if there's anything out there, but maybe there is, and if not, then it doesn't matter if I do this. I don't know how you work, but I have a question. Really more of a request. I'm not asking for forgiveness or any help. I just wanted to ask that I don't have to kill any little kids. The older ones are on their own, but none of the really little ones, like Historia. That shouldn't be hard, right? You probably don't like killing kids either. But then again, you never stop it. I guess either you're not there, or you don't really care._

* * *

Cloey Daleigh- District Seven female

The first day of training, I kept my distance and scoped out the Careers. I didn't try to hide it, since I knew they'd notice. I wasn't trying to be sneaky, just trying to learn more. The second day, I made my move.

"You're the head of the pack, right?" I asked Rose. I'd waited for a moment where she was with the rest of her teammates.

"That's right," she said.

"I want to join," I said.

"Ooh," Valerian cooed from behind her.

"Why would we let you in?" Rose asked. "You're just a Seven."

"I'll show you why. I'll fight him," I said, pointing to Mahi. He was a lot bigger than me, but that didn't matter. I'd fought a lot of people in training, and they didn't match us up by size. It wouldn't be like that in real life. "If I win, let me in. If I lose, no sweat off your back."

"I'm down," Mahi said. "Just keep an eye out for attendants."

We moved to a corner of the training room, where we wouldn't be as visible. Rose, Valerian and Antonia formed a semicircle around us, and we squared up to fight.

Mahi and I were both hesitant to make the first move, so I started things off. I forewent a punch in favor of a shoulder shove that knocked him off balance. When he punched my face, I took the blow and tackled him, sending us both to the ground. I pushed myself up higher onto him and wound myself around his torso, wrapping my arms around his neck. In class, they taught us to end a fight quickly and _preferably_ non-lethally. A choke hold was hard to get out of, and they worked _fast._ Not fifteen seconds later, I released Mahi's sleeping form and slid him off me as I got up.

"Did I win?" Mahi groaned a few seconds later, when he woke up.

"Bro, you got _whipped,"_ Valerian said, and she helped him up.

"Excuse me, but there's no fighting among Tributes. Is there anything going on here?" an attendant asked as he shoved between Rose and Antonia.

"Nope, we're fine," Mahi said, and he coughed. "Just stretching."

Rose looked at her allies, who indicated their approval. "I hope you're as good as you think," she said. "You're one of us now."

* * *

 **I wrote an extra chapter yesterday so I could post during the week!**


	18. Five-Man Band

**I didn't get word Brad was in until after I wrote this, so I'll add him later.**

* * *

Kio Stone- District Two male

Somehow, Bronze and I ended up on the same observation deck, looking out at the Capitol.

"Shouldn't you be with the other Careers?" he asked after a long time ignoring each other.

"Shouldn't _you?"_ I asked.

"I dunno," he said. "I was thinking maybe… I might not join."

"Hey, sometimes it happens. Sometimes they even win," I said. I couldn't think of any off the top of my head, but it had probably happened.

"I just don't think I really fit in," Bronze said. "They're all so gung-ho. I kind of fell into this."

"Me, too. I haven't really confirmed my alliance either," I said.

"I _do_ want allies. Just not people like that," Bronze said.

"Maybe more like someone strong, but who isn't as keen on fighting?" I asked.

"Maybe you're looking for the same?" Bronze asked.

"Honestly, it's probably the only way to survive the Bloodbath, since they're going to be gunning for us," I said.

"Sounds right. Guess we're a pack after all," Bronze said.

 _Is that a bit better?_ I sarcastically asked Kaynah. _I got away from the Careers and got an ally who isn't quite like them. Maybe now I have a chance._

Hmph.

"I was thinking maybe a few more allies would be good. Does that sound all right?" Bronze asked.

"Sure, but no girls," I said.

"No girls?" he asked, more honestly confused than disapproving.

"I had a bad experience," I said.

"Psycho ex?" he asked.

"Something like that. But worse. Just no girls," I said.

"No problem," Bronze shrugged. "They can be just as violent as we can, can't they?"

* * *

Falcon Jacobs- District Ten male

When I noticed Bronze watching me, I tried to play it cool. I pulled back from any flashy moves and focused on hitting the target with my knives and nothing more, since I was just a beginner. I probably should have been worried, but honestly, I liked an audience.

"That's not bad," Bronze said, coming over next to me.

"Thanks. I just started," I said. On the one hand, I didn't want him to think I was weak. On the other, I didn't want him to think I was a threat. Best he thought I was completely forgettable.

"You got a plan for the Games yet?" he asked.

"I'm still working on it," I thought. _Why would I tell you._

"Oh. Just curious. You looking for allies?" he asked.

"Why so many questions?" I asked.

"Because I thought you might want to ally with me and Kio," Bronze said.

"Why would you want to ally with me? I'm not anything special," I said. I hadn't been too suspicious before, but that pushed me over the edge. The only reason a Career would want to ally with me was to get me closer so he could kill me.

"Me and Kio are on the outs with the rest of the pack," Bronze said. "They're going to come for us at the Bloodbath. Safety in numbers, really."

"You want me there to lessen the odds they'll come after you," I said.

"Yeah, but the same will happen for you. More targets means fewer hits," Bronze said.

I took stock of my options. I was a middling Tribute, surrounded by the Careers on one side and the little kids on the other. The littlest Tributes weren't really a factor, leaving me more open to attack. It _would_ help me to have someone else with me at the start. Maybe Kio and Bronze could teach me a little about fighting, if they didn't sabotage me. And they'd definitely be the first priority for the Careers. If I wasn't forgettable before, I would be next to them.

* * *

Kaulan Kippton- District Six male

 _Why bother getting out of bed?_

I wasn't going to win. Training was just an exercise in futility, and I didn't have the energy. It felt like everything was useless, and I just wanted to stay in my soft, luxurious bed and not do anything.

"All right, get up."

Lancia wasn't having it. She ripped off the sheets and shooed me out of bed, shutting the door behind me when she got me out of the room. I didn't feel like wandering the halls, so I made my way down to the training room, intending to watch the others and maybe find inspiration.

"Hey, why the long face? Okay, dumb question," Falcon said as I sat on a bench moping.

"Yeah, that's pretty much it," I said.

"Sucks, don't it? But we can't just stop trying," he said.

"Why not? Seems to be working," I said.

"Because there's good stuff in the world. Because they'll win if you do. Because of family or whatever. At least give it a shot. You could win everything," he said.

"Why are _you_ trying?" I asked.

"Not gonna lie, I just don't want to die. Do you?" Falcon asked.

"Not really," I admitted. "I just don't really want to go out and live."

"Hey, maybe you just need some friends. Come hang out with me and the guys," Falcon said. He pulled me up and I halfheartedly followed him to his allies.

"This is Kaulan. Can he ally with us?" Falcon asked.

Kio and Bronze looked at each other and shrugged. "Sure," Kio said.

Falcon smiled at me. "See, now you have friends."

* * *

Bronze Castila- District One male

 _I'm not really a Career now. I need to learn stuff besides fighting._

Turning my back on the pack meant turning my back on all the comforts and sponsorships that came with it. I wasn't going to be able to camp in the Cornucopia or in a nice tent. I wouldn't have packaged food, or weapons sent to me. We were on our own.

Rope-making didn't take long to learn. Knot-tying was more confusing, and I decided in the end to wing that one when the time came. I remembered a bit of tracking from the Academy, and it didn't seem like I learned much more. All the prints looked the same, especially when they were smudged, like they would be in the Arena.

 _Swimming…_ Either the Arena would be super watery, in which case I was done for, or I wouldn't need swimming. I spent only a few minutes there before moving on to the ropes course. I had no idea what the Arena would be like, so I had to be ready for every environment.

 _Oh, well. I'll get the next one,_ I thought when my foray into fire-making was an epic failure. Falcon could get that one. Rumor was he was a firebug. He could start the fires, Kio could do the heavy fighting, Kaulan could do the brooding, and I would do the other stuff.

Every hour or so, I took a break and peeked out at the Capitolites making their way through the halls around the training room. I wished I could be out with them, living the good life and having a good time. I knew I could do all that if I won, but I hated being stuck as a Tribute, having to train all day. I already knew a lot, anyway. It was impossible to predict what knowledge I needed to win. I might already know it, or it might be something I'd never thought of. Training was a crapshoot in the end.

When the day was finally coming to a close, I felt less guilty wrapping things up. Some of my allies were a bit morose, but maybe I could convince Kio or Falcon to let loose.

 _I worked hard all day,_ I reminded myself. _I learned… Let's see, I did ropes. Maybe I didn't learn too much, but I also did climbing, and swimming. Okay, not swimming. Fire-making, archery, wrestling, spears, tracking…_

The more I thought about it, the less I'd learned. Somehow, I'd visited every station in the room and learned almost nothing.


	19. Backstage

**I forgot to tell everyone that Burgoo King actually won the Kentucky Derby. I did not make that name up.**

* * *

Rhoda Hamilton- Head Stylist

I was supposed to be the stylist for everyone, but we all knew I would be a little biased toward One. I didn't show it much, but it did annoy me when my District got Tributes who didn't even want to be here. Bronze must have noticed my frustration.

"Sorry. Between you and me, it wasn't my idea," he said.

"What do you mean? Kids are beating down the door to volunteer," I said.

"I sort of got volun-told," he said.

"Why would anyone do that?" I asked.

"Guess I got on the wrong guy's bad side," Bronze said.

It was things like that that made it easier not to favor One. Kids break themselves for a chance at this, and someone still forced a child to his death. It used to be I didn't think that kind of cruelty existed in the world.

* * *

Hollan Makhpiya

"It's not often I see something like this. I don't even have to do anything to you!" I said to Rose. She was already striking, and the only real change I had to make was some cover-up on the scars on her leg.

"Really?" Rose asked, peering into the mirror.

"Face it. You're gorgeous," I said. Rose gave a tiny smile, and I pretended not to see it.

* * *

Tigris Chatte

"Can I have crazy face paint and a giant sword?" Valerian asked.

"I think I can work with that," I said.

"Lay it on me. Cake that makeup on like an ugly chick on her first date," Valerian egged me on.

"How about you?" I asked Kio.

"I'm sure you have something good planned," he said. I was glad he said that, since I did.

* * *

Cilantro Pestle

" _Achoo!"_

I sniffed, and the air irritated my throat, making me cough. All the fancy medicine the Capitol had, and here I was allergic to cold tablets.

"Sorry. I'm not feeling it today," I told Martyna and Coil.

"Three's usually ugly anyway," Coil said. Martyna gasped and stared at him, and he realized. "I mean, it's hard to dress Three. You already did all the good stuff."

"It's all right. Sometimes Three _is_ kind of ugly," I admitted. _Let's just throw something on you and I can go to bed._

* * *

Rouge Twain

"Can I have orange makeup?" Mahi asked.

"Why? It doesn't even match your complexion," I said.

"Nobody ever wants orange. Look how much is left," he said, pointing at the full palette.

"I just want to be pretty," Antonia said bashfully.

"No _problem!"_

* * *

Blush Paletti

"This is gonna be so great! I have the _best_ idea!"

"What is it?" Dina asked.

"It's so great! Just wait till you see it. But first, the makeup. Warm colors for you, Dina, since you have an olive complexion, and cool tones for Mark since he's pale…"

* * *

Puff Auri

 _This is a disaster. This is the worst thing that has ever happened ever. Those poor children, having to deal with this._

"What's wrong?" Kaulan asked when they came in and saw me crying in a corner.

"The costume!" I wailed, holding up the sleek racing suit I'd worked so hard on. "I left it over a lamp to dry and it caught on fire! Your costume is fine, but Dima's is ruined!"

"It's okay. We can use something else," Dima said.

"Like what?" I asked.

"Use some other costume someone isn't using," Dima said.

I brightened as an idea struck. I ran off down the hall. One of the other Districts was sure to have something I could use.

* * *

Flora Kettle

Cloey looked sad. Why would anyone look sad when she looked so good?

"I'm almost naked," she said. She was wearing a coat of green body paint, with a few artistic leaves and branches to cover the goods.

"You look great," I said.

"They're all going to look at me," she said.

"That's the idea!" I said.

Cloey looked like she wanted to say more, but instead she crossed her legs to cover herself and put her arm across her chest. Beside her, Brad bent over the chair, rustling as he did.

"At least you're not a friggin' TREE!"

* * *

Mint Goblet

"Here's half your outfit. And the other half is up to you!" I told Isabelline, and I waited for her awed reaction.

"You want me to sew an outfit?" she asked.

"Yes! While you're on the chariot!" I said.

"I can't make a dress in five minutes. And not everyone from Eight even knows how to sew. We work in the factories. We don't do couture," she said.

"Oh... oh well, just do your best!" I said. A horrible thought occurred to me, and I turned to Max. "Do you know jesters in Eight?"

"Don't worry," Max said, jingling his hat. "I got this."

* * *

Baste Marinade

"I'm dreadfully sorry. They had a poll this year. I don't know what possessed them."

Joelle looked up at me from her stooped position under the bale of wheat on her back. It would have been an okay if non-ideal costume, but the sexy nurse getup ruined that.

"It's okay. It'll be kind of funny when I look back," she said.

Dylan tried to suppress his giggles, but he couldn't hide the smile. To balance… _that_ out, I dressed him in a plain farmer's outfit. _It's not my fault!_ I pleaded with the audience. _It wasn't my idea…_

"Puff? What are you doing here?"

"Don't mind me, just looking for a costume," she said as she threw clothes out of a closet.

"But you're from Six?" _This day keeps getting weirder._

* * *

Phoebe Vane

"It's a cow."

"It's not _just_ a cow. It's a very special cow," I said.

"Cooooooooow," Historia said.

"This is a _legendary_ cow. I don't suppose _you've_ even read the story," I said.

"What's the story?" Historia asked.

"It's very complicated," I said.

"You didn't read it, did you?" Falcon asked.

"It's illegal," I admitted.

"Whoever heard of a yellow cow?" Historia asked.

"It's not yellow!" I said.

"Mooooooooooo…"

* * *

Creme Brulee

Hlenn was supposed to be a beautiful flower. She was making it harder to see the vision when she looked so miserable. I would think it would brighten someone up to have six lovely petals all around their face.

"I saw something like that once before," Mak said.

"Yeah, one a _onesie,"_ Hlenn said. "Can I just be a shovel like him?"

"But you look so _beautiful!"_ I said. "Like a pretty flower."

"Yeah," Hlenn said glumly. "I'm a pretty flower."

* * *

Cuisine Martinique

"This is kind of fun," Aldous said as I applied mascara. "Can I have eyeliner, too? It makes me eyes look cool."

"You know what? Go crazy," I said. Aldous' eyes lit up when I left him alone with all the makeup. I'd never seen him so excited.

"I made this textile myself," I said to Theo, showing her the flowing black dress.

"It looks very nice," she said, but I could tell she was looking for what made it special.

"I dyed it with coal dust," I said. "That's better than body paint, isn't it?"


	20. Parade

Polyphemus Ignotus

"Hello, Panem! I'm Polyphemus Ignotus and this is the Fifty-First Hunger Games Parade!"

"It's the best of times and the worst of times. Rose wears a stunning white dress with an incredible crown of diamonds, while Bronze is literally a diamond. Just a giant foam diamond. He's trying mightily to engage the crowd without being able to move his arms. Rose, who has full freedom to move, isn't paying us any mind."

"Valerian and Kio are two samurai. Valerian is swinging her katana wildly and hanging off the chariot like a monkey. Kio is squished into a corner of the chariot, looking at her warily and trying not to get cut in half."

"Martyna and Coil are two halves of a plug. Those two parts that go together... _psst psst Oh that's what they're called? Buy why- ohhhh that's_ rude!Martyna and Coil are the male and female halves of a plug. Coil is taking it with good humor, while Martyna is ignoring her bulky costume and smiling at the crowd. I do believe she just tossed out a wink. Someone in the audience is lucky!"

"Mahi is a fish. I would have thought he would be a mahi, but he's an anglerfish. Close enough. He's 'swimming' around the blue chariot in good spirits. Meanwhile Antonia is a stunning mermaid. From her sparkling blue halter top to her purple gossamer tail, she looks at home in the ocean as in the limelight."

"Dina wears a typical construction uniform and a hard hat, while Mark is a stick of dynamite. But what's this? She's pulled a button from her pocket. Fire in the hole!"

BOOM!

"Oh, no! Oh no, they're going to hit- oh, good. After a near collision with the Six chariot, the horses have been safely wrangled back to their place. I guess they don't like loud noises. Dina and Mark are unharmed, but Dina's hat is gone and their hair is standing straight up."

"Why is Adira an ear of corn? No one knows. Maybe her stylist, but I don't think so. She's very enthusiastic, though. She's waving like mad and hopping around the chariot. Kaulan is having a harder time moving, which is ironic, since he's a car."

"Braddock is a tree, yawn. But where's Cloelia? I can't even see her. Oh, there she is, peeking over the chariot edge. I can only see her face and her hands. Is she shy? Braddock helpfully pulls her up, showing that she's showstopping in her skintight paint and barely-there modesty branches. She's not very happy with him, though, since she just shoved his arm away and crouched back down. Sounds like someone has a little stage fright!"

"This _is_ a treat! Isabelline is a mannequin, and she's sewing her own dress! She's frantically working on what seems to be a very simple pink shift. Maybe Max can help her with the colors, since he's wearing them all. He jingles merrily from one side of the chariot to another, tossing jokes out to the audience."

"Why is Dylan wearing a racecar driver's outfit? No one knows. Maybe the six and the nine outside the stylists' doors were hung upside down? And helllllloooo nurse! Joelle looks smashing in her sultry gown, but the bale of hay really throws off the glamour. She can barely stand, but she's making lemonade from lemons by throwing bits at the crowd."

"Falcon is not just any cow. He's a golden calf. Like that story, right? He gets jewels and body paint and it still fits the theme! Historia, naturally, is a milkmaid, and she's loving it! She tosses her long blonde braids and empties her bucket onto whoever's lucky enough to be sitting up front."

"Why is Hlenn so sad? She looks adorable! She's a beautiful daisy! She looks just like my little niece. And she got so much luckier than Mak, who is a shovel. It was a nice touch to line the chariot with dirt, though. He should be happy. He's right at home."

"Aldous is having a good time! His simple miner's costume gives him freedom to move around and engage the audience. Theo is a bit more confined, wearing a long, flowing dress. I guess it's kind of pretty, but I don't really get how it matches-"

" _It's coal dust!"_

"I guess it's made of coal dust. Very nice."

"It's always something new in the wild world of the Hunger Games Parade. You'll gaze in awe, you'll try not to laugh, and you'll think, for better or for worse, 'how _did_ they do that?' I was so impatient for it to start, and now I'm sorry it's over. See you next time, and I'm already counting the days."

* * *

 **Shoutout to Creme, who was so determined everyone know it was coal dust that he apparently left the stage area and abandoned his Tributes in order to yell at Polyphemus.**


	21. Sisterhood (and Brad)

**I forgot if this alliance had a name from the creators, so if it did, I'll change it. Brad's with the five-man band, btw.**

 **LOL I forgot the best part of Brad's parade experience!**

* * *

Brad Simpson- District Seven male

My stylist was an idiot. I designed a better costume when I ripped off that stupid tree and let the audience see my muscles. I knew I looked good, but I also knew sponsors would be interested in someone so obviously fit. You win the games with strength, not kindness.

I also knew strength alone wasn't enough. I needed allies, even if I had to play nice to get them. I needed the best, and that was Kio and Bronze.

"Why would we want to ally with you?" Kio asked when I gave them my spiel.

"You've seen me train. You know I'm good," I said. Every day, I practiced with axes for half an hour. I wasn't really getting any better. I already knew my way around. I only did it so the others could see I was no one's target.

"Congratulations, you can throw an axe. So can any grandma in Seven," Bronze said.

"You must have also seen me using the throwing knives and traps," I said. "I can kill them, and I can also catch them if you'd rather."

Kio gave me a look of disgust. "Do you think we _enjoy_ this?" he asked.

"I think you volunteered," I said.

"You'd never understand," Kio said.

"Whatever. You know I'm a good ally to have. Make the right decision," I said. Kio and Bronze's allies weren't even present, but they weren't important. We knew who the valuable players were.

Kio and Bronze exchanged a glance. "Sure. Why not?" Bronze said.

They thought they had it figured out. They took me on so they could get through the Bloodbath and then stab me in the back. They thought I didn't know, but I knew more than that. I knew I was planning the same thing.

* * *

Mak Jonson- District Eleven male

I didn't need to train. I was strong enough to win and smart enough to do what I had to. It was the only reason I was still alive.

"Hey, kid," I said to the feeb who kept falling asleep in the middle of training. "You know you're gonna die, right?"

"Why would you even say that?" the boy asked.

"Because it's true," I said.

"You don't have to-" the boy started. He stumbled over his words, then started breathing faster. "You don't-"

"Now you can't even breathe right?" I asked.

"Leave him alone," a girl said from behind me. She circled around and I saw it was the girl from Three. Meanwhile the boy was panting and wiping tears from his eyes.

"What do you care?" I asked, looming over her.

"You're a bully. Go away," the girl said. She didn't even seem to notice I was twice her size.

"Yeah, I am a bully. And he's nothing but a little wimp," I said.

"You're the one who picks on little kids," she said.

"And you're the one who's going to be dead in the Bloodbath," I said. I left to comfort the snot-nosed boy.

* * *

Hlenn Rambutan- District Eleven female

 _You can do it. Come on. You're going to do it._

I was trying to psyche myself up to conquer my fear: the rop course. Yes, it was funny that a girl from Eleven was afraid of heights. I'd heard it before. We didn't all pick fruit from the trees. Some of us stayed on solid ground and dug potatoes. Some of us were ephemeral butterflies, and some of us were lowly moles. But even the most beautiful butterfly came from a crawling caterpillar.

 _You're going to fly like a bat. You always wanted to fly. You always imagined having wings and soaring high up in the air. So go do it._

I stuck my feet through the cargo net and bent my knees so I'd be caught if I fell. I started creeping up, like a slowly blooming flower. I didn't want to look up at how much higher I was getting, but I didn't want to look down at how far away the ground was. Each step felt more precarious and they were exponentially, not linearly, worse. I tried to make up a little story about me sprouting wings and floating, but they always ended with the net snapping and me going splat.

 _I wonder if anyone has died at the training center._ Surely it had happened at some point. Someone thought a little too much about what was coming and painted the white marble in the bathroom red. I wondered if at the end, they felt as cold as the stone. Would it feel the same way on the padded floors in the training room? They were meant to keep us safe, but if I fell from all the way up, it would probably just make my death more slow and mangled.

I was so distracted by morbidity that I didn't notice I was at the top. I hauled myself flat onto the hammock-like mesh at the top and saw another girl looking back at me.

"Hey. You made it," she said.

* * *

Adira Baelyn- District Six female

I'd been watching Hlenn. Not super close or anything, or at least more than I was watching everyone else. She just seemed to have a good head on her shoulders, and she didn't seem to be out to get everyone else. I was looking for a good alliance, and I liked what I saw.

"I noticed you're kind of different," I said.

"Everyone thinks that about themselves," Hlenn said. She was obviously uncomfortable up so high, since she kept shifting around and looking through the net.

"I also noticed you're brave," I said. "You're scared of heights, aren't you?"

"Who are you, William Legrand?" Hlenn asked.

"Who's that?" I asked.

"He's a detective. Haven't you heard of him? I thought he was famous," Hlenn said.

"I don't know any Eleven detectives," I said. What kind of weird assumption is that?

"No, he's from a book. Edgar Allen Poe wrote it. I thought he was famous," Hlenn said. I shrugged.

"I'm putting together an alliance," I said. "I want you and Theodosia."

"Why Theodosia?" Hlenn asked.

"I heard her talk about her sister dying in the Games. She doesn't seem like the type to betray people. You either," I said.

"What about you?" Hlenn asked.

"I don't think so. I won't really know until it happens," I said honestly.

"You're honest. I can work with that," Hlenn said. We shook hands, Hlenn wobbling as the netting under us shifted.

* * *

Theo Mulroy- District Twelve female

The Reaping was behind me. Everything that happened then was the past. I was thinking about the present and the future, because looking back wouldn't do anything but break me down. I was already close enough to the edge.

"Me?" I asked when Hlenn introduced herself and Adira. "What, were all the strong people taken?"

"The physically strong ones aren't the morally strong ones," Hlenn said. "We're in this for the long haul, not to betray each other."

"Like a sisterhood," I said.

"Exactly," Adira said.

I smiled wryly. "I don't have a good track record with taking care of sisters."

Hlenn's eyes bugged out, and she gasped.

"It's okay. It's been a long time. Of course I'm still sad, but you have to laugh or cry, right? Always choose to laugh," I said. I left out the part where I cried almost a day straight right after what happened with my dad. Sometimes you laugh _and_ cry.

"So what are you ladies good at?" I asked.

"I've been working with the scythe," Adira said.

"I'm learning some first aid, and we're both studying plants," Hlenn said.

"Guess that leaves offense to me," I said. "I've had my eye on that cool forearm knife for a while."

"Sounds good," Hlenn said.

"Sounds good, sisters," I said, and I winked.

* * *

 **Mak's scene was separate, but he's with the sisters. I assume as a red herring or something, I don't really know. Adira had to be a little OOC this chapter because she doesn't talk much and is usually aloof, but I needed conversation to get the alliance together.**


	22. Menders

Martyna Stark- District Three female

I'd been chatting with most of the other Tributes throughout the day, so I wasn't surprised when Joella waved me over to her table at dinner.

"I heard you threw down with Mak," she said.

"Oh, he was just being a butthead," I said.

"Still, it was pretty cool," she said.

"Someone's gotta do the right thing around here," I said.

"True that," she said. "You making a lot of friends?"

"I'm mostly hanging out with the littler kids. Everyone else is so skittish," I said.

"I get that. You going to try to make allies?" she asked.

"Definitely. I can't do this alone, and I'm just a people person," I said.

"I wasn't sure at first, but I think maybe I could use some help too," Joella said. I could already see where this was going, and I liked it.

"You have room for someone who's not as smart as most people from Three but has a big heart and is a great friend?" I asked.

"That's exactly who I have room for," she said.

"Nice," I said, and I high-fived her. I had an ally _and_ a friend! What a good day.

"I was trying to think of a way to approach Isabelline," I said, my eyes finding her at her table. "She seems so… no-nonsense."

"I was thinking about her, too," Joella said. "Let's emphasize what we have to offer. "I know a lot of folk medicine and I've been working with the spears, and I saw you were practicing with the knives."

"Yeah. We can cure them or kill them," I said. "We're the full package."

* * *

Joella Krame- District Nine female

With Melinda, I'd seen strong people die of tiny infections and tiny people live through things that should have killed anyone. She said it was the person who usually decided things. It wasn't their size, but their heart. That was why I wanted Martyna as an ally. She wasn't the first one most people would think would win (and neither was I), but she had a good heart. I knew she would do everything to her utmost, and I could trust her. That was so much more important than weapons or strength.

I wanted to ally with Isabelline for the same reason. She always seemed a little standoffish, like she didn't really notice us, but there was a reason for that. She knew that even if you made allies, they wouldn't last forever. She was here to get things done, not to make real friends. She seemed like she didn't even know how to make friends.

That made it easier for me. If it came down to it, I would never forgive myself if I had to kill Martyna. She was the sweetest person here, and I would hate myself the rest of my life. But I _would_ have a rest of my life, because in my heart, I knew I would do what I had to.

The first night, when I was still on the train, I looked inside and made some hard decisions. I knew I had to make my peace before I went into the Arena. I was a healer, and taking a life seemed like betraying everything I knew. But I could do so much good as a doctor. It was like those old scenarios you discuss in philosophy class. How do you pick who to put on the lifeboat? Would you kill a kid to keep a train from crashing? Which were more valuable, future lives or present ones?

I'd made my decision. I was going to be a doctor, and if I had to kill to do it, I hoped the blood I saved balanced out the blood I shed. And I dearly hoped it wasn't Martyna's.

* * *

Isabelline Thayer- District Eight female

When Martyna and Joella asked me to ally with them, I didn't show how excited I was. I'd never had real friends, and they seemed so easy and genuine with each other. I'd always been such a professional and standoffish person. My allies, Martyna especially, were open with their feelings and looked to each other for support. I wanted that, too, and I hoped I didn't blow it.

Back home, my friendships never lasted long. Where most people picked up on when their friends were sad or needed help, I didn't notice those things. I'd been preoccupied with serious things like getting food or helping someone whose arm was amputated, and it frustrated me when people got upset about little things. I knew I lacked empathy, and it frustrated me that it wasn't something I could learn. There were so many things I couldn't be bothered about, and that made me a bad friend.

Martyna didn't care about that. She liked people just as they were. Joella was a bit more… not mature, exactly, but she acted more like someone who'd seen things. We both knew who was most likely to win this thing. Joella and I were both ready to kill, but I wasn't sure about Martyna. Probably it wouldn't come to that. If she won, it would be by evasion.

What a place to make friends. I'd always wanted a lasting connection, and this was the only place where it could never happen. I knew we wouldn't be friends long, and we'd probably end up killing each other. Maybe all three of us would die in the Bloodbath. All these plans we made, and they'd come to dust. Everyone else was making plans, too. Somewhere in the building, the first Tribute to die was planning out how he or she would make it to the top, and seeing their family again. Twenty-four people thought they would be the winner, and somewhere out there, only one of us was right.

* * *

 **Martyna mends relationships, and Joella and Isabelline mend people. Funny how that works out.**


	23. Logic and Rhetoric (and Dylan)

**Max's form said he was looking for allies, but there wasn't a confirmed alliance between him and Coil. I paired them up because it seemed to work (feels like Ender and Bean to be, tbh). I had time to get the greenlight from Coil's submitter, but if Max's doesn't go for it, I'll just have them be separate from here and assume they decided not to ally.**

* * *

Max Solstice- District Eight male

I knew I should be working on fighting and weapons and things like that, but they were just so boring. I kept picking up weapons and trying them out, but I wasn't good at any of them. If I'd taken all the training time throwing an axe again and again, I might get good at it, but I couldn't stand it. It was repetitive and I couldn't see any results, and it just wasn't the way I was wired.

The agility course kept my interest. I loved how quick I had to move to avoid the swinging blocks and skip across the wiggly logs. I felt like a squirrel.

As I ran across an unstable bridge, I noticed a boy picking himself up off the ground. He clambered back onto the course and stood unsteadily.

"What's up? Guess this isn't my forte," he said. It was the boy from Three, but I didn't know his name.

"Weapons weren't mine, so here I am," I said. Us being two boys, and after we exchanged names, it naturally became a bit of a competition. We went through the course together, with me usually far ahead of him.

"Try looking at a single spot on the ground. It helps with your balance," I said when Coil fell off again.

"You're lucky. I can never guess how far away things are," Coil said, after mistiming another run through the swinging blocks.

"You must have been doing all the smart stuff before," I said.

"I was at the plants station, but I have a terrible memory, so it didn't do much good," he said. "I was great at the strategy station. Too bad I don't have an army."

"I always thought I'd be a good general," I said. "Kind of braggy, but I thought it would be fun to be out there leading everyone and making sure we were working together."

"I guess this is the last place anyone works together," Coil said.

"Maybe if we'd done more of that, we wouldn't have the Games," I said quietly. Coil looked around, then made a face that signaled his agreement.

"Hey, you wanna try the track? Maybe I'm good at running if nothing is swinging at me," he said.

"Sure. Last one there's a rotten egg!"

* * *

Coil Oxida- District Three male

After Max beat me at the track, we finally did something I was good at, and then it was my turn to teach.

"Archery is all about physics," I said, lining up a shot. "An arrow follows an arc. There's gravity and momentum and all that. There's drag and stuff, too, but that's not enough to make a difference at our level. The basic formula is 'sum= arctan(delta x/ delta y)', with x and y being the horizontal and vertical distance."

"Wow. That is really smart and really way beyond my brain," Max said.

"You don't have to do all that math out. We do it in our heads. All humans do calculus every day without even thinking about it," I said. I grabbed a small round weight from a nearby table and tossed it to Max. He caught it easily. "That wasn't even hard for you. To catch that, you needed to know how fast it was going, calculate the arc it described, and put out your hand to intercept it. You did calculus just like that."

"No kidding? Now I feel smarter," Max said.

"Archery is the same way. You don't have to know all the equations. Just think about the variables when you make your shot. Distance, height, the natural arc path of the arrow, and momentum," I said. I aimed the arrow and took a shot. It hit the second-to-outer rim of the target.

"You also have to practice and be coordinated. I'm working on it," I said.

"You think you could hit someone in the Arena?" Max asked.

"It depends on how close they are, I guess," I said. "I'd guess I could hit at up to around twenty yards."

"You gonna run in and try to get a bow?" Max asked.

"I don't think I'd better. I shoot a lot better than I run," I said.

* * *

Dylan Buddard- District Nine male

"This one is salsify?" I asked the instructor.

"No, that's chicory," he said. "Salsify is the one with the pointed petals."

"Sorry. I'm not good at this," I said.

"Don't be sad. No one is good at first. You're still starting," he said.

"I don't think most people are this bad," I said.

"Plants are very hard to tell apart. I've been doing this for twenty-nine years. Of course it will be easy for me," the instructor said.

"I know this one," I said about a feather white flower. "That's goatsbeard."

"That's right! It's okay if you only know a few plants. You won't be in the Arena long, so it's okay if you only eat a few different things," the instructor said.

"This one is…" I couldn't figure it out. The plant looked blurry, and it seemed to have floating specks on it. I blinked, and everything went weird. The plant had prickly barbs all over, like claws, and it was so dark it was almost black.

"What's wrong?" the instructor asked. His voice was warped, like it came from a computer. I didn't want to look up to see what he looked like.

 _It's not real. It's just one of your 'spells',_ I thought. Whatever made me fall asleep, sometimes it made this happen. I knew they weren't real, but they still scared me, which was why I couldn't look at the instructor.

"Nothing! Just a headache. Sometimes bright lights do that," I fibbed, and I ran away before he could say anything else. I was still panting long after I stopped. It was scary enough when that happened here. I dreaded the thought of it happening in the Arena, where the scary things were real.

* * *

 **You're going to get a lot of chapters since I'm trying to get to the Bloodbath before classes resume on Monday.**


	24. Last Four

**I also don't have confirmation for Dina and Historia. It just fit their forms.**

* * *

Dina Emmer- District Five female

I'd done the agility course, plus I'd worked with knives and fire making. I was decent with all three of them, but I had bigger plans. The Games weren't for the Districts. They were for the Capitol.

There were plenty of Capitolites around the building. They were the ones with the money and power, and they were the ones I needed on my side. I found a half-empty restaurant and picked a table in the corner. I started crying fake tears, the type you do when you're not really that sad but you're mad at someone and you want them to feel bad for what they did to you.

Not five minutes later, I got my first hit. I Capitolite woman with orange eyes and blue hair came over, her painted face lined with concern.

"What's wrong, butterfly?" she asked.

I sniffed and pretended to be embarrassed at being caught. "It's nothing. I'm just worried about the Games," I said.

"I'm sure you'll be fine. You look like a strong girl," the woman said, sitting across from me in the booth.

"It wouldn't be so bad, it's just… my parents," I said.

"They know you'll make it," the woman said.

"We used to be so hungry all the time. There was never any money. Some days I didn't eat anything, and other days I didn't tell my parents I was taking food from garbage cans." The woman gasped softly, like she'd never heard of such a thing. "We finally started to eat a few months ago when my dad got a new job. It's going to break their hearts seeing me starve again in the Arena."

"Oh no, trinket. We can't let that happen! I'll send you food," the woman said, drawing herself up like a hero.

"You'd really do that? I'm just a Tribute," I said.

"We can't have you going hungry. It's just not right," the woman said about the Hunger Games.

"Oh, thank you so much," I said, breaking down in pretend gratitude.

After some more pleasantries and conversation, the woman's friend came by and she left, promising to tell all her friends about me. I tearfully waved goodbye, moved to another restaurant, and started fake crying.

* * *

Mark Lafayette- District Five male

"Come on, let's go! Is that all you got?"

I loved the hand-to-hand station. I loved bouncing back and forth, planning my next hit while executing my current one. I took a few licks, but I gave as good as I got. I started out with the intermediate trainers, and I didn't let myself down. I was doing good. I saw the Careers scoping me out, and I didn't even care. If they wanted a piece, let them come at me.

"You're looking pretty good," Valerian said as I was toweling off after a match.

"You're looking pretty good, too," I said. It was never wrong to compliment a lady, as long as you weren't creepy about it.

"You're barking up the wrong tree, but thanks," she said with a friendly smile. "I'm glad to see the outliers look strong. It's boring to kill people that don't fight back."

"I may not have wanted this fight, but I'll finish it," I said.

"Sounds almost like a challenge," Valerian said, and her smile turned wicked.

"You got the training, but I got the heart," I crowed.

"Maybe I'll just take it, then," she said.

"You can try," I said.

"See you in the Arena, tiger," Valerian said. She went back to her allies and they started whispering to each other. I wondered if they were talking about me, and it was confirmed when they kept sending glances my way.

 _Ohh…._ I _had_ been feeling pretty hot, but maybe it wasn't the best idea to tell the Careers how ready I was to fight. Sometimes I didn't keep my big mouth shut.

* * *

Historia Brunby- District Twelve female

I didn't think anyone would want to ally with a little Twelve girl. I was super excited when Dina asked to ally. She was so much older and probably knew all sorts of cool things.

"I have a plan for the Bloodbath," she said over brownies and ice cream. That was my idea. I had good ideas.

"Cool," I said. "What is it?"

"When the gong sounds, I'll skirt around the platforms, picking stuff up from the borders. You run in and grab a backpack," she said.

"Hold on. Me, run in? That doesn't sound like a good idea," I said.

"Just hear me out. There's a reason," Dina said. "I'm bigger, so I can carry more. I can gather up all sorts of things on the outside. You just get the one backpack, and try to get a knife."

"They call it the Bloodbath for a reason," I said.

"That's why it should be you. The Careers will be going all the way in to get weapons, and then they'll go after the big threats. They won't even pay any attention to you. Just grab a backpack, which they don't want anyway, and we're out of there," she said.

"You think I'm fast enough?" I asked, starting to warm up to the idea.

"Definitely. You're little and quick. They won't even see you coming. They'll never expect it," Dima said.

"I hope the backpacks have canned food," I said. "Or those packets you heat up."

"Guess we'll find out," Dima said.

* * *

Aldous Bridge- District Twelve male

It made me sick seeing the Careers in the training room. They had everything they could want, and they chose this. They had food and shelter and in One they had _luxury,_ and it wasn't enough for them. They were so fat and bored the only way they could get their kicks was killing little kids. They were worse than the Capitolites.

When night set in and we went back to our rooms, I hung out in the lounge, nibbling on some vegetables. There was so much amazing food here, but I was trying to be healthy. I wanted to build up some reserves for the Arena. I was in the lounge because I wanted to talk to Nubu. Training was good, but I wanted to hear from someone who had been there.

"Nubu? Can I ask you some questions?" I asked when he came in.

"Of course," he said, taking a seat on the couch.

"How do you deal with it?" I asked. A shadow fell across his face and I realized he didn't.

"Killing people?" he asked.

"Just the stress," I said.

His face relaxed a little in relief. "I didn't have much of a stressful life before," he said. "After the Arena, I started out one day at a time. I thought about the moment, or the second if I had to. On better days I thought farther ahead, and on bad ones I just stopped and breathed."

"How do you do things for yourself if there's so much you have to take care of?" I asked.

"Sometimes I forget about that. Being strong isn't something you plan for. It just happens when someone else needs you. If no one needed me, I'd probably stay home all day and cry a lot more. I'm normal because I have to be. We all need something to depend on. If someone doesn't have that, you have to be it for them."

"I just want to get through the Games," I said.

"Don't think about anything but that. For the next few weeks, think about yourself. I'll take care of your sister. All you need to worry about is you," Nubu said.

 _All I need to worry about is me._ And I had a lot to worry about.

* * *

 **Just interviews, private sessions, and some bonus POVs left!**


	25. Private Session Report

ATTN: HEAD GAMEMAKER TITIAN QIN

PRIVATE SESSION REPORTS

* * *

DISTRICT ONE FEMALE: ROSE O'DURREN

SKILLS ASSESSED: UCHIGATANA, RUNNING

PERFORMANCE: Rose demonstrated her skills in both swordplay and sprinting. Both were excellent, showing that she can both quickly acquire a weapon and engage her target.

STRENGTHS: Swords, speed, archery

WEAKNESSES: Rose is adequate but less confident with other weaponry. She is also unlikely to form a real team with her allies.

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Nothing

ODDS: 12:1 SCORE: 10

NOTES: One hasn't won in a while. Looks like that might change.

* * *

DISTRICT ONE MALE: BRONZE CASTILLA

SKILLS ASSESSED: WEIGHTS, RUNNING, AGILITY, KNIVES

PERFORMANCE: Bronze took the first half of his session to report the criminal activity of Peacekeeper Slate Harris, who forced him into the Games by threatening his family. He then performed quick showings of his actual skills. His evasion skills were well developed, but his work with the knives was clearly unenthusiastic.

STRENGTHS: Physicality

WEAKNESSES: Lack of enthusiasm, reluctance toward violence

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Nothing

ODDS: 18:1 SCORE: 8

NOTES: That's totally illegal. We'll take care of it.

* * *

DISTRICT TWO FEMALE: VALERIAN MERCURY

SKILLS ASSESSED: KATANA

PERFORMANCE: Valerian positively exulted in her session, taking great joy in solidly defeating her expert sparring partner. She ended her performance with a wink at Gamemaker Harp, along with a promise that is private.

STRENGTHS: Katanas, enthusiasm, high spirit

WEAKNESSES: Valerian is likely to ignore essential things other than fighting. She also showed no survival skills.

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: High aggression, even for a Career

ODDS: 14:1 SCORE: 9

NOTES: I'm looking forward to that.

* * *

DISTRICT TWO MALE: KIO STONE

SKILLS ASSESSED: AXES

PERFORMANCE: Kio showed a wide range of skills, both aggressive and practical. He neglected neither fighting nor survival axe skills, showing himself ready for anything.

STRENGTHS: Solid non-Career alliance, well-rounded

WEAKNESSES: Target for the Career pack, less vicious than most Careers, reluctance to kill young Tributes

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Kio sometimes converses with his dead sister, but this is a coping mechanism and not psychosis.

ODDS: 13:1 SCORE: 9

NOTES: That's still kind of weird they picked the would-be medium to volunteer.

* * *

DISTRICT THREE FEMALE: MARTYNA STARK

SKILLS ASSESSED: LIGHT KNIVES

PERFORMANCE: Martyna worked with a variety of small knives. Her technique was nothing special, but she showed some quick hand work and at least a willingness to fight.

STRENGTHS: Morale, close bonds with allies, not much of a target

WEAKNESSES: Lack of any significant fighting skills or physicality

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Martyna is the most well-adjusted Tribute this year

ODDS: 24:1 SCORE: 6

NOTES: Well, I hope you have fun.

* * *

DISTRICT THREE MALE: COIL OXIDA

SKILLS ASSESSED: STRATEGY, ARCHERY

PERFORMANCE: Coil was pretty solidly average. He showed archery skills on par with someone with his level of training. His strategy was very high-level, but battle strategy is not applicable to the Arena.

STRENGTHS: Intelligence, strong bond with ally

WEAKNESSES: Not fast or agile, no real standout skills

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Very high intelligence score

ODDS: 24:1 SCORE: 6

NOTES: This isn't your wheelhouse, is it?

* * *

DISTRICT FOUR FEMALE: ANTONIA ALIX DA COSTA

SKILLS ASSESSED: WHIPS, DAGGERS, HEALING

PERFORMANCE: Antonia showed great shrewdness in her chosen performance. Her whips and daggers were more than adequate to kill her enemies, and her healing skills showed an underutilized and valuable trait for a Career.

STRENGTHS: Antonia is very valuable to her alliance as a healer, but can also stand her ground if the others turn against her.

WEAKNESSES: Antonia has a clear moral code, which is crippling for a Career.

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Nothing

ODDS: 14:1 SCORE: 9

NOTES: The last time I saw a Four like this was Shelle…

* * *

DISTRICT FOUR MALE: MAHI ARAPAIMA

SKILLS ASSESSED: CESTUS, KNOWLEDGE

PERFORMANCE: Mahi took some of his time to regale us with a variety of trivia, on matters from edible plants to Games history. The rest of the time was the cestus, which he demonstrated mastery of.

STRENGTHS: Likeability, not-threatening to other Careers, general handiness, out-of-box thinking

WEAKNESSES: No real drive to kill, lack of enthusiasm for "warrior lifestyle"

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Excessive personification of inanimate objects. Usually indicative of OCD, but will not affect the Games.

ODDS: 18:1 SCORE: 8

NOTES: I learned something today. I learned a lot, actually.

* * *

DISTRICT FIVE FEMALE: DINA EMMER

SKILLS DEMONSTRATED: AGILITY AND FIRE-MAKING

PERFORMANCE: Dina was nothing special on the agility course. She failed to make a fire.

STRENGTHS: Multiple sponsors.

WEAKNESSES: Pretty much everything else we saw.

ODDS: 34:1 SCORE: 3

NOTES: Wah- _waaah._

* * *

DISTRICT FIVE MALE: MARK LAFAYETTE

SKILLS DEMONSTRATED: HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT, STRATEGY

PERFORMANCE: Mark was very energetic and charismatic in his sparring. For strategy, he opted to give a speech on the subject. The style of fighting he pontificated on was hard-hitting and logical, impressing us.

STRENGTHS: Charisma, high spirits, fighting skills

WEAKNESSES: Ego

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Nothing

ODDS: 18:1 SCORE: 8

NOTES: They wanted to give you a 7 but I bumped you up for being cute ;)

* * *

DISTRICT SIX FEMALE: ADIRA BAELYN

SKILLS ASSESSED: WRESTLING, SCYTHES

PERFORMANCE: Adira was surprisingly strong. She held her own against her sparring partner and destroyed several dummies with her scythe.

STRENGTHS:Her positive attitude to the Capitol will net her sponsors. She also has a strong alliance and a wide range of skills.

WEAKNESSES: Idealism, lack of real fighting power against the Careers

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Nothing

ODDS: 18:1 SCORE: 8

NOTES: It's not often someone likes us! Thanks!

* * *

DISTRICT SIX MALE: KAULAN KIPPTON

SKILLS ASSESSED: MECHANICS

PERFORMANCE: Kaulan surprised and delighted us by taking an assortment of the mechanical props and constructing a toy car.

STRENGTHS: Innovation, mechanics, creativity

WEAKNESSES: Lack of morale, dreaminess, fighting skills

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Kaulan has suffered from depression most of his life, to the point of suicidal ideation, though he never made an attempt. He also suffers from anxiety and low self-esteem.

ODDS: 22:1 SCORE: 6

NOTE: I liked the poem, too.

* * *

DISTRICT SEVEN FEMALE: CLOELIA DALEIGH

SKILLS ASSESSED: AGILITY, SWORD

PERFORMANCE: Cloelia fiercely attacked the agility course, showing good balance and quick thinking. Her swordplay is equally aggressive and effective.

STRENGTHS: Weapons, attitude toward Capitol, strong character. Cloelia was trained as a Peacekeeper and has all the appropriate skills.

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Cloelia passed the comprehensive Peacekeeper mental health assessment.

ODDS: 17: SCORE: 8

NOTES: Or maybe it will be Seven that makes a comeback.

* * *

DISTRICT SEVEN MALE: BRADDOCK SIMPSON

SKILLS ASESSED: AXES, RUNNING, WEIGHTS

PERFORMANCE: Unfortunately, Brad did well. We all hate his guts, but he was adept with the axe and strong enough to best high-level wrestling partners. We hate his cockiness, but we're even madder that he backed it up.

STRENGTHS: Callousness, physicality, brutality

WEAKNESSES: Ego, personality

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: I diagnose Brad with a severe case of asshole.

ODDS: 17:1 SCORE: 7

NOTES: You said you wanted a six to seem average. Tough.

* * *

DISTRICT EIGHT FEMALE: ISABELLINE THAYER

SKILLS ASSESSED: MEDICINE

PERFORMANCE: Isabelline's skills were home-grown. Her wound sewing technique resembled a sewing stitch, and her knowledge of diagnosis was faulty. She had confidence and a steady hand, but she lacked refinement.

STRENGTHS: Alliance, mental strength, resilience, medicine

WEAKNESSES: Lack of training, target for Careers

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Nothing

ODDS: 30:1 SCORE: 4

NOTES: Ouch. I thought it was better than that.

* * *

DISTRICT EIGHT MALE: MAX SOLSTICE

SKILLS ASSESSED: AGILITY

PERFORMANCE: Max was hyperactive and frenetic, moving across the course like a squirrel. He earned the nickname 'Scrat' from us Gamemakers. We will try to hook him up with Hades, who will no doubt enjoy this new species of rodent.

STRENGTHS: Complementary ally, energy, high spirits

WEAKNESSES: Opinionated on politics, strong sense of right and wrong.

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Nothing

ODDS: 20:1 SCORE: 5

NOTES: That was a roller coaster.

* * *

DISTRICT NINE FEMALE: JOELLA KRAME

SKILLS ASSESSED: PLANTS, MEDICINE, SPEARS

PERFORMANCE: Joella divided her time equally between her skills. She showed the most adeptness with medicine and plants, but her spears skills were not bad.

STRENGTHS: Invaluable ally, strong alliance, medicine

WEAKNESSES: Joella will likely not kill younger Tributes. She may try to help wounded Tributes.

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Nothing

ODDS: 22:1 SCORE: 7

NOTES: Wait, you're a _witch's_ apprentice?

* * *

DISTRICT NINE MALE: DYLAN BUDDARD

SKILLS ASSESSED: FIRE

PERFORMANCE: Well, he wasn't wrong. He absolutely made a fire. He set of the fire alarms and scorched half the wall, but it _was_ a fire. Dylan showed great anxiety about this, though it's understandable when in a room that's on fire.

STRENGTHS: He sure goes big or goes home.

WEAKNESSES: Mental health, lack of size, age

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Dylan suffers from narcolepsy and intermittent hallucinations caused by complications in childbirth.

ODDS: 50:1 SCORE: 4

NOTES: If you win, I'll eat my hat.

* * *

DISTRICT TEN FEMALE: HISTORIA BRUNBY

SKILLS ASSESSED: ROCK THROWING

PERFORMANCE: Historia came in and announced that it wasn't realistic to learn a weapon enough to make any difference, so her strategy was to throw rocks, because if you straight up got hit in the face with a rock, it would slow you down. She threw rocks at mannequins, who would have been slowed down if they were alive.

STRENGTHS: Rocky Arenas

WEAKNESSES: Indoor Arenas

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Nothing

ODDS: 30:1 SCORE: 4

NOTES: I can't really argue with that.

* * *

DISTRICT TEN MALE: FALCON JACOBS

SKILLS ASSESSED: AXES, MANUAL COMBAT, PLANTS, FIRE

PERFORMANCE: Falcon spent a little time with axes and combat before turning to the plants. He quickly became distracted and set a fire, which he contentedly watched until his session timed out.

STRENGTHS: Strong alliance, well-rounded. At least twice as good at Dylan at fire.

WEAKNESSES: Easily distracted, no support from District

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Pyromania

ODDS: 24:1 SCORE: 6

NOTES: Between you and Dylan, it won't be boring.

* * *

DISTRICT ELEVEN FEMALE: HLENN RAMBUTAN

SKILLS ASSESSED: Chemistry, edible plants

PERFORMANCE: Hlenn instructed us in how to embalm a body. She then sifted through the edible plants, picking the ones with symbolic significance to decorate her ersatz body.

STRENGTHS: Showmanship, allies, plants, creeping other Tributes out.

WEAKNESSES: Creeping other Tributes out, heights

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Just garden-variety weird, no pathologies

ODDS: 19:1 SCORE: 7

NOTES: So I should get Harley amaryllises, then.

* * *

DISTRICT ELEVEN MALE: MAK JONSON

SKILLS ASSESSED: WEIGHTS

PERFORMANCE: Mak threw some weights around. They were heavy.

STRENGTHS: Heavy stuff

WEAKNESSES: His personality

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Nothing treatable

ODDS: 60:1 SCORE: -1

NOTES: This is what happens if they let me pick the score

* * *

DISTRICT TWELVE FEMALE: THEODOSIA MULROY

SKILLS ASSESSED: FOREARM BLADE

PERFORMANCE: Theodosia showed she knows what is needed by being very aggressive in her attacks. She made up for her lack of training with her energy and unpredictability.

STRENGTHS: Alliance, resilience, determination

WEAKNESSES: Training, difficult past

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Theo has experience a higher than normal level of loss.

ODDS: 24:1 SCORE: 6

NOTES: You're just not lucky, are you?

* * *

DISTRICT TWELVE MALE: ALDOUS BRIDGE

SKILLS ASSESSED: FEROCITY, PLANTS

PERFORMANCE: Aldous started with a normal session. In the middle of attacking a dummy, he suddenly seemed to unleash all his anger, tearing the dummy apart primally. He then collected himself and went on to show plant skills.

STRENGTHS: Unexpected rage, plants

WEAKNESSES: Temper, fighting skills, astigmatism

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Nothing

ODDS: 24:1 SCORE: 6

NOTES: I don't really know what to expect here.

SIGNED

THEODORA HARP AND HARLEQUIN MARCEAU

* * *

Rose o'Durren: _I have lived up to expectations._

Bronze Castila: _Are they going to do anything?_

Kio Stone: _The B-Careers aren't looking bad._

Valerian Mercury: _Whatever. Let's get started!_

Martyna Stark: _That's pretty good!_

Coil Oxida: _Average. Probably lower than median. Probably close to mode._

Antonia Alix da Costa: _The females are doing better this year._

Mahi Arapaima: _I hope someone gets an 11 or 12 sometime._

Dina Emmer: _Now I look even more pathetic and needy._

Mark Lafayette: _Come on. I did good!_

Adira Baelyn: _I thought I did worse than that._

Kaulan Kippton: _Really? I thought I sucked! I did better than some people?_

Cloelia Daleigh: _Good. I proved my place in the pack._

Braddock Simpson: _Son of a gun, I said SIX!_

Isabelline Thayer: _Wow, I bombed._

Max Solstice: _Should have hit them with the ol' charisma._

Joella Krame: _Wow, I thought Isabelline did better than that._

Dylan Buddard: _I burned the room down. Oh my gosh._

Historia Brunby: _I rocked._

Falcon Jacobs: _That was a nice fire._

Hlenn Rambutan: _I was afraid I creeped them out._

Mak Jonson: _The heck is a -1?_

Theo Mulroy: _The heck is a -1?_

Aldous: _How did he get a -1?_


	26. Interviews

Caesar Flickerman

"First up, we have the sleek and stunning Rose O'Durren. How does it feel to be representing District One in the Capitol?"

"I've very honored to be here. The Capitol is the best of Panem, and we all wish for a chance like this," she said, looking mesmerizing in her sheer plunging dress with delicate silver chains.

"Bronze, what drives someone like you to volunteer for this?"

"I sort of fell into it, honestly. But I'm going to make the best of it, and it's been great so far," he said.

Kio's interview started pretty normal, though getting him to talk about his family was like pulling teeth. Halfway through he suddenly asked to leave, stating that he was having a medical problem. As he left, he kept looking at nothing, like there was someone there.

"It's a great day in Panem!" Valerian said, kicking her leg out so the slit in her dress showed more. "I'm super stoked to be here and it will be even better when the real fun starts."

"You seem very close to your allies," I said to Martyna.

"I'm very happy to have them. Joella and Isabelline are both good at healing, and we all learned stuff to work together. It's like I'm three people instead of just one," she said.

"I hear you're very smart," I said to Coil.

He shrugged. "Everyone thinks they're smart. All that matters is your actions, not some test score."

Antonia looked resplendent in a cream-colored sparkling ball gown, with jewels in her hair and silver shoes. "You must have someone waiting back home," I said.

"My nephew," she said. "I take care of him, and I need to get back for him."

Mahi obviously loved his fluffy tulle skirt, and he flounced it with one hand as he answered my questions. "I'm so glad you asked. The cestus originated in Greece, and it was made of rawhide back then…"

"The Capitol has been very good to me," Dina said shyly. "They welcomed me immediately. I've never seen such hospitable and generous people."

I hardly got a word in with Mark. He talked about everything from politics to debate. "Debating is a lot like the Hunger Games. You and your opponent both have an end goal, and you can't both win. You have to both defend against their views and advance yours."

"It's always been my dream to come to the Capitol," Adira said. "When I was little, Capitolites rebuilt the orphanage I lived in. They changed my life. Wherever they are, I want to say thank you."

"I wrote a poem," Kaulan said, unfolding a sheet of paper. "Is it okay if I read it?"

"We'd love to hear it!" I said.

" _How can I do this?_

 _Out of twenty-four, how can I say I'm the one?_

 _There's so much to overcome_

 _So much to outrun_

 _I'm afraid of what's out there_

 _Like others who tried_

 _Worst of all is myself_

 _What I might find inside_

 _Maybe I'll lose_

 _And at least I'll have peace_

 _But what if I win_

 _By becoming a beast?"_

Cloelia knew exactly what she had to say. "I have never allowed challenges to defeat me, and now, as I face the greatest challenge of my life, I will either conquer or die fighting to the last."

"So yeah, I'm not really worried. It's easy. Just kill some kids and come home," Brad said. He started unbuttoning his shirt again, and I hastily ended the interview.

Isabelline looked a little out of place in a sunny yellow sundress. She ignored it with dignity, and spoke about keeping a level head and taking the Games one challenge at a time.

"I'm really interested in the history of the Games," Max said. "I like history in general. I want to be a politician, and it's important to know about what came before me."

"The Capitol has a lot of opportunities for someone like me," Joella said in a bronze dress. "I'm looking forward to taking advantage of that if I win."

"Yes." "No." "Yes." Dylan was not much of a people person. He was even less of a crowd person, or a center of attention person.

Historia took care of her own interview. "So then I just thought 'how about rocks?' There's always rocks, and if you've ever gotten hit with a rock, you know it hurts."

"How have you been preparing for the Games?" I asked Falcon.

"I've been focusing on my flaws and making up for them. Self-awareness is so important. Lots of people would rather get good at new things, but I'm trying to bring up my weak spots."

"I love my dress," Hlenn said. "It's a fractal. See how it makes more and more of itself? It's like a neverending spiral."

Someone must have done something to Mak. No one could be that mean from birth. I definitely pitied anyone he came across in the Arena.

Theo was doing fine, and then I ruined it.

"My sister? She died," Theo said. Her eyes filled with tears and I knew it was too late. "And I might too, mightn't I?" She tried to collect herself, failed, and ran offstage.

"What's it like to be so far from home?" I asked Aldous.

"It's really purifying, weirdly. I'm so far from everything I knew that all I have is myself. I'm getting to know myself more, like it was for the first time."

"Thank you, Aldous, and thank you to all our wonderful Tributes. It's going to be another great year, and I can't wait to see what happens."

* * *

 **I keep forgetting to answer whoever asked what coast I was. Right now I'm on the East Coast, since Comcam school is there.**


	27. Last Looks

**Just a few bonus POVs before the tubes! Almost there!**

* * *

Isabelline Thayer- District Eight female

No one would have seen it coming. No one would have guessed I would make friends, much less develop a connection with Hades.

Hades was the mentor from Seven, so we shouldn't really have even crossed paths. I only met him because I found an iguana in my room. Of course I assumed it escaped from the petting zoo, but it turned out to be his. We started talking, and just like that, I made a friend. All I needed all this time was an iguana.

"Why aren't you with your Tributes?" I asked when Hades set his tray on my table at lunch.

"Cloey doesn't need me, and I don't like Brad," he said.

"I don't blame you," I said.

"This usually happens. I may be the mentor, but I don't have anything to offer. I just got lucky," he said.

"You deserved it, at least. Better you than a Career," I said.

"For the first few years, I was younger than my Tributes. I don't know how I can connect to someone I can't save and I can't even advise," he said.

"It's not your fault. You made it on your own. Every Victor has to," I said.

"I'm tired of being alone," he said.

"Me, too," I said.

* * *

Falcon Jacobs- District Ten male

"I suppose you're wondering why I've gathered you here today," I said to my allies, as we sat around the Ten lounge, a giant bowl of nachos on the table.

"For nachos?" Bronze asked. "Because that's enough for me."

"I know nobody wants to think of this, but we have to consider it. No matter what, at least all but one of us is going to die. Whoever wins has a responsibility to the fallen," I said.

"Is this one of those things where you have a girlfriend I'm supposed to marry?" Bronze asked. "Because I'm taken, but I can see if he would mind a third. If she's hot."

I rolled my eyes. "No, I do not have a girlfriend I need to marry off. I just meant, if there's anything you all want the winner to say to anyone."

"I got something." Kio hadn't said anything from the start. "Tell my parents I'm with Kaynah and she'll take care of me."

"Tell my family I made friends and I was happy," Kaulan said.

"Tell Charm he's hot," Bronze said. "How about you?"

"Tell them I didn't mean to start the fire. I just couldn't help it. But I won't set any more," I said. It was nothing I hadn't said before. Maybe it would mean more from a dead man.

Brad bent forward and started to shake. He sniffed loudly, then suddenly wailed, "Tell my family… tell them… that my allies are a bunch of sissies!"

Everyone groaned. Bronze punched Brad's arm. "Brad, you're a jerk," Kio said playfully.

I knew he hadn't meant it, but Brad did the perfect thing. We'd all gotten our messages out, and now the tension was gone. We could keep them in our hearts and pretend we were just eating some lighthearted nachos.

* * *

Historia Brunby- District Ten female

My mentor Calvary always had to lug a little girl with her everywhere.

"Who even is that?" I asked one day.

"Oh, no one. Just the president's daughter," Calvary said.

"What? Why is she here?" I asked.

"I stole her," Calvary said. "But really it was my prize for winning my Games. Lucky me."

"This is getting even weirder," I said.

"Poor squirt was so sheltered she didn't even have any friends. Her dad asked her what she wanted for her birthday and she actually asked for a friend. That was where I came in," Calvary said.

"You're way too old," I said. "This is a job for someone like me."

I made my way over to Rose, who was setting up a game of cards. "Hi, Rose. I hear you don't have many friends. Well, you do now."

"You want to play Go Fish with me?" she asked.

"You bet. I'm great at Go Fish," I said. "It's easier at home, when half the cards are missing."

"You should buy a new deck," Rose said.

"Look at Fancypants here who can afford cards whenever she wants," I said.

"Calvary said most people in Ten are poor. Sometimes we visit them and I bring stuff," she said.

"Shoot, wish I'd met you before!" I said.

"You can have these," she said, handing me the cards when we were done playing. "Is it really scary, going into the Games?"

"Not yet. I'm sure it will be," I said.

"I wish you didn't have to go," she said.

"Me, too," I said. When I left, Rose was still looking thoughtful.


	28. Tubes

Rhoda Hamilton- Head Stylist

"These cover a lot of skin, but the material is very thin," I said as I dressed Bronze. "It's lightweight and wicks water, so I'd guess the Arena is hot and sunny. They're tawny, too. I'd brace myself. Looks like a desert."

* * *

Blake Armani

"Almost ready, huh? Just about time. Fun stuff. Real fun stuff."

Bronze was nervous. He was vibrating and pacing the room, agitatedly talking about how much fun it would be. Rose was a picture of serenity. She'd been ready for years.

* * *

Pray Jager

Valerian knew it, though I didn't say it. As unlike as we were, I hoped she did well. She and Kio both had what it took, and I was pulling for both of them. Kio had the strategic mind, but Valerian had the style.

* * *

Gidget Ford

Coil had more of what it took to win. Then again, Martyna was more like me, and I won. Then again, all our other Victors were more like Coil. I had no idea what the odds were. That was a question for Coil.

* * *

Careen Ellis

Antonia kept sneaking glances at me. She wanted to say something, but couldn't do it.

"Relax. I'll send the kid money if you bite it," I said. Her nerves evaporated and she looked almost excited to get into the tube. Call me a softy, but she'll do better if she had nothing to worry about.

* * *

Shane Donegal

"Sorry I volunteered," Mahi said.

"I was young and stupid once, too. Now at least I'm not young," I said.

"Hope I'm like that someday," Mahi said.

"Stupid?" I asked.

"Not young."

* * *

Sky Levings

Sometimes Dima rubbed me the wrong way, but she had a good shot. For all the crying she did in the Capitol, she sure looked fine now. If she won, maybe she wasn't my first pick, but it meant I didn't have to mentor as much. I'd eroded my values plenty before. One more wish wouldn't hurt.

* * *

Erwin Jackson

"This is going to be exciting."

"Maybe I should have made some more allies."

"Those Careers better watch out."

"I think I might run in a bit. I'm fast."

I just wanted the tube to come down. For goodness sakes, get him away. Whether he lives or dies, at least it will be _quiet._

* * *

Lancia Audren

"You can do it. You showed a lot of improvement, and you stuck with the exercises even when they were hard," I told Kaulan. Adira already had confidence, but Kaulan needed help.

"I got a six," he said.

"That's right, and you deserved it. You have a chance. Don't sell yourself short."

* * *

Hades Rodriguez

Cloey was waiting in the space under the tube, watching for it to appear. Brad was lounging against the wall, smirking. Either of them could win. I'd be happy if it was Cloey. I'd at least get a break if it was Brad. But there was someone else I was also rooting for.

* * *

Tillo Peters

Max talked too much. He was chatting with Isabelline about something she didn't care about but was polite enough to listen to. Finally, I cut her a break.

"Hey, you're gonna be a doctor right?" I asked.

"I hope so," she said.

"Don't hope. Make it happen."

* * *

Calvary Warsaw

No one was supposed to be here except Tributes, stylists and Victors. This place was top secret. So who had to worm her way in? Rose, of course.

"Stay safe. Don't run in right away, okay? I'll send you stuff. You don't have to get it at the Cornucopia," she said to Historia. As the tubes came down, they shared a hug.

"Goodbye! Don't die!"

* * *

Bambi Kirkland

"I know they're mad at you, but don't let them tell you you're worthless," I told Falcon. "Just because you did something bad doesn't mean you can't move past it."

Falcon looked at me knowingly.

"You're not worthless, either," he said.

"Thanks. Even now, it's still hard to believe," I said.

* * *

Frankie Disney

I had nothing to say to Mak. I hoped he died, and I didn't feel guilty about it. Hlenn was an odd duck, but she was better than Mak.

"Guess I might find out what it's like to die," she said as the tube descended.

"It didn't do much for me," I said.

"Nothing does much for you," she said, and she laughed as the tube took her away.

* * *

Nubu Sanders

Theo and Aldous were both looking at me. They thought I knew everything. As long as I didn't look scared, they thought there was no reason to. I didn't make any speeches or give any advice. I was using all my strength to keep looking strong.


	29. Countdown

Theo Mulroy- District Twelve female

Warm sunlight flooded into the tunnel before I even got above the ground. The sky was a brilliant blue, without any clouds. My chest hurt with the pressure of my swollen heart throbbing inside me, sending pressure up and into my throat. I wanted to jump up and see what was out there, but I was afraid I'd set off the explosives. All I could do was wait as the platform slowly rose.

* * *

Falcon Jacobs- District Ten male

The smell of dirt and grass hit me as the platform crested the tunnel. The sudden flood of light was so bright I had to squint, and I shielded my eyes with a hand as I looked out at the Arena. Golden yellow grass waved in a light breeze, far out onto a flat savannah. A few thin trees, and one fat one, were the only interruptions. Then, in the middle, there was the Cornucopia. It was made of stone, with a single opening. I couldn't see most of the stuff inside it, since my eyes had adjusted to the light and it was dark inside. Whatever it was, I was sure there were plenty of deadly things.

 _59, 58, 57…_

* * *

Hlenn Rambutan- District Eleven female

 _Well, stinks to be white._

Lucky for me, I was half-black, half-brownish, and not white at all. Rose and the mayo brigade were in for a rough time. But then, I had to get through the Bloodbath before I could gloat. In this Arena, water was all that mattered. My eyes zeroed in on a water bottle. Whether or not it was full, it was mine.

 _50, 49, 48…_

* * *

Bronze Castila- District One male

I searched the platforms. Kio was across from me, hidden somewhere behind the Cornucopia. Kaulan was three to my right and Falcon was next to him. We found each other and looked meaningfully at the same items, indicating our plans. I was to grab a weapon and we'd cover each other, getting more things and fighting our way to Kio. He could take care of himself until we got there.

 _44, 43, 42…_

* * *

Adira Baelyn- District Six female

I was looking at the same water bottle as Martyna. I wasn't sure if she knew we were aiming at the same place. I'd have to be quick. I didn't want a fight just yet. I just knew the sun was hot, the Arena was wide, and I needed water.

 _36, 35, 34…_

* * *

Dylan Buddard- District Nine male

I couldn't breathe. I was pulling in air, but my lungs were blocked. I was choking. My eyes blurred and I swayed, almost falling off the platform. I caught myself with one hand and crouched on my knees, unsure if I could stand. I just wanted it to start, so I could run.

 _29, 28, 27…_

* * *

Joella Krame- District Nine female

I needed a knife. Everyone wanted water, but I needed a knife. Melinda knew everything there was to know about nature. She always said plants were life. They gave us everything we needed, from medicine to shelter to food. And they could give us water, too. The fat tree in the distance was everything. It was life.

 _19, 18, 17…_

* * *

Aldous Bridge- District Twelve male

So many people had given me advice. Run in. Don't run in. Take a backpack. Find water. I didn't know which to believe, and in the end, it was up to me. I had to listen to my own instincts and forge my own path. As the timer ticked down, I made my plan.

 _5, 4, 3, 2, 1._

* * *

 **It wasn't a trick. It really was that obvious. It's a savannah lol**


	30. Bloodbath

Valerian Mercury- District Two female

The Cornucopia open was facing between Mak and Isabelline, giving them first crack at the prizes. Predictably, Isabelline ran straight out into the grass, weaving toward her allies. Mak made a break for the Cornucopia, and I swore. I wasn't worried about him, but this meant wasting time disarming and killing him. He vanished into the dark stone cave, and I arced around so I could see him clearly when I engaged. There was a blur of movement, and it stopped me in my tracks.

" _Shoot shoot shoot shoot!"_

* * *

Mak Jonson- District Eleven male

I dove into the Cornucopia, ready to grab the first weapon I saw. I heard a low, throaty growl, and something long and tawny knocked into me, plowing me over. There was a sudden pressure at my head, and I felt detached from my body. Faintly, I heard the roars as two other lions ripped into me, one on each side. The first lion released my head and latched onto my throat, crushing it like paper. I'd finally run across something I couldn't bully, and it was going to treat me just like I treated others.

* * *

Rose O'Durran- District One female

Blood seeped into the grass around the Cornucopia, leaving the grass slick. I'd thought Mak was the only one in there, so who was he fighting? Then the lioness appeared. Mak dangled from her jaws, blood covering her mouth and his entire front. Two other lionesses followed, flanking her.

This changed everything. The Careers came to a dead stop. This was like nothing that had ever happened before. We couldn't fight lions, probably not even with weapons. And the weapons were gleaming uselessly behind the cats.

 _I need a plan_ now. Already I could hear the outliers taking advantage, running in and grabbing things while we were stuck. Every second let more of them escape. We couldn't even afford not to fight the lions. We needed those supplies, or we'd dehydrate in a day.

My head snapped sideways, towards my craziest ally. "Valerian. Charge."

She smiled wickedly. "I got you."

* * *

Hlenn Rambutan- District Eleven female

This changed everything. In the split seconds as the Careers realized they were sunk, it was a free-for-all. Outliers ran left and right, filling their arms with supplies and slinging multiple backpacks across their arms. Joella swiped my water bottle, but I didn't even care. I just took another one. I had plenty of time.

When Rose looked over at Valerian, I decided to stop pressing my luck. Adira was already next to me, and Mak was lion food. We found Theo and ran for it, leaving the Careers to deal with the cats. We had more than enough for ourselves.

* * *

Mahi Arapaima- District Four male

Whatever Valerian was doing, it probably wasn't a good idea. She was running full tilt at one of the lionesses, who was warily shying aside. At the last moment, Valerian did a flying front flip, landing almost entirely on the other side of the lion. She bounced off the lion's rump, tucking and rolling as the lion swung around to strike. She hit the ground moving and grabbed a sword.

"All right, kitty! Let's go!" she yelled. She picked up another sword and launched it like a javelin at Rose.

The first lioness was still holding Mak, and she merely growled and mock charged at anyone who came near. The second ran at Valerian, who swiped her sword at it, driving it to rear back and regroup. The third lion tried to get her from the side, but Rose stuck her sword into its rear leg. It screamed and whipped around, ready to bite her. By that time, I'd been able to grab a mace, and I swung it at the lioness' head. It barely fazed her. She shook her head and snarled at me. It screamed suddenly as Antonia's whip cracked across its eye. Blood and fluid streaked its nose as it charged.

* * *

Historia Brunby- District Twelve female

When I saw the lions, I reconsidered. I was fast, but so were lions. Dima would have to get any supplies she wanted. I was making a break for it. I didn't even notice, until I was out of breath and far away, that Dima wasn't with me. Even with the mostly flat Arena, I couldn't see her in all the grass. _Great. I had an ally for like one day, and now I lost her._

* * *

Antonia Alix da Costa- District Four female

The lion that held Mak was dragging it away, presumably toward the rest of the pack somewhere hopefully far away. That left us with two lions to kill. Still not great odds.

I cracked my whip again, aiming for the lion's other eye. She turned at the noise, and my shot hit her nose instead. As she turned to snarl at me, Mahi hit her with the mace again, this time on the thinnest part of her leg. She huffed as her leg crumpled under her. Mahi and I were on her like fleas, him clubbing and me stabbing. We didn't stop until the roars turned into screeches, and then mewls. I honestly felt bad, but it was just nature.

"Yeah, we got it!" Valerian cheered. Then the other lion chomped her leg.

* * *

Kaulan Kippton- District Six male

While the Careers were distracted, we could grab stuff. Unfortunately, everyone else had the same idea. Bronze and Kio came away with tons of supplies, but the slower people, like me, were left with scraps. All I got was a rain poncho- _for the savannah? Why even?-_ and a net. Max bowled me over as he ran past, and Theo almost did the same.

Sounds of violent conflict emanated from the Cornucopia. I heard lions screaming along with humans, and it chilled me. Bronze and Kio came running past, and I followed. Whatever scared them terrified me.

* * *

Cloey Daleigh- District Seven female

I knew it was inevitable. You didn't fight three lions without someone getting hurt. Valerian was giving as good as she got, though. As the lioness crunched the bones in her leg, she was beating on its head with one hand and slashing it with the katana in the other, screaming obscenities. Mahi clubbed the lioness on the head, and I stuck a knife into its side. I released Valerian suddenly and bit through Mahi's other hand, tearing off two fingers like sausages as Antonia leapt across Valerian to stop the gouting blood by squishing the elg under her knee. Blood spurted from Mahi's hand even as he hit her again. Valerian finished the job abruptly and savagely with a brutal slash across the lioness' head. The lioness turned tail and fled, blood smeared all across her face.

"We won! Mostly," Valerian said. Rose ran straight for the open Arena, cursing when she saw it. The Tributes were gone.

* * *

Dylan Buddard- District Twelve female

I couldn't move. I was huddled beside my platform, hidden by the metal and tall grass. I could hear the Careers talking.

"Damn it. They got away," Valerian said.

"And you can't stand," Antonia said.

"It'll grow ba-," Valerian said.

"Did she die?" Mahi asked.

"She passed out. The adrenaline wore off," Antonia said.

"They didn't all escape," Rose said. My heart went cold. She whispered something to Mahi.

I heard her footsteps in the grass, and the stalks bending around her. Her shadow fell across the platform. I knew I had to run, but I couldn't. I couldn't do it. Then instinct took over and I leaped to my feet. I turned around and ran straight into Mahi's mace. He looked almost sorry.

* * *

Max Solstice- District Eight male

I thought we were out of the clear. We'd cut it to the wire, gathering supplies even after the first lioness died. At the last minute we fled, both heavily laden with supplies. Still, it seemed like we'd made it. The Cornucopia was far behind us, and when I looked over my shoulder, the Careers weren't even giving chase.

Then I saw the arm go up. A metal bow glistened in the sun, aimed right at us. Only a Career could make that shot. _Calculus,_ I thought. _How good is Rose at calculus?_

 _Sum= arctan (delta x/ delta y)._ When the arrow was in the air, there was no time to dodge. I could only watch as she correctly solved the equation. With how fast Coil died, I'd say it was right through his heart.

* * *

 **Go into a lions' den, find lions. I had that planned for a while. I just thought it was cool, and it was a good excuse for the tiny Bloodbath. There just weren't many people I wanted to kill. I actually had Historia penciled at first, but then I had her make friends with Rose, and I liked that.**

 **24th place: Mak Jonson- Eaten by three lionesses**

 **Mak was a Bloodbath, obviously. He was made to be completely unsympathetic, but I just can't seem to do that. Besides, his form said he was mean because his father taught him that way, and I knew how that was. Not by experience, but still. Thanks Santiago for making a Bloodbath so others don't have to die.**

 **23rd place: Dylan Buddard- Maced by Mahi**

 **Mahi didn't have time to get his cestus., but he will. Dylan didn't seem like he was made to win, and I needed to kill SOMEONE. It was already a comically small Bloodbath. He had so many weaknesses and so few real strengths, I just cut him now. Thanks 66samvr for making an actually weak Tribute.**

 **22nd place: Coil Oxida- Shot by Rose**

 **Coil was mine. I got impatient and made a Bloodbath so I could start. I made him as likeable as I could so he'd be a red herring, but it looks like most people thought he would die. Oh well. Thanks me for making my job easier.**


	31. Fireflies in that Big Bluish-Black Thing

**It was either a stubby chapter or publishing this tomorrow since I have formation, so I went with a stubby chapter.**

* * *

Brad Simpson- District Seven male

That went as well as I could have asked for. While the Careers were getting their butts kicked by lions, I got everything I needed. I had a big backpack full of freeze-dried food and a full water bottle, plus a survival knife. That was what I was using to whittle a wicked-looking spear. There weren't many trees around, but I ran straight for the clump I saw in the distance. They provided cover, and they also provided wood.

Pity only three people died in the Bloodbath. That left more for me to fight. I liked the adoration that would come from winning fights, but I would have been content to lay low and win by brains instead of muscle. Either way, I was still going to come out on top.

I muttered in annoyance as little strips of wood splintered off my spear, making me have to move farther down the stick. The Gamemakers could have at least properly sharpened the knife before they put it in the bag. Trust a Gamemaker not to know anything.

I examined the spear when I was done, turning it this way and that. It wasn't particularly sharp, since I only had a crappy knife to work with. I'd have to really not like someone in order to push hard enough to get it in them. Lucky I didn't like anyone here. I wondered who would be my first kill. Of course I hoped it was a Career. We all wanted that notch on our belt. If not, my first pick would be Cloey. Sure it was bad form to kill your District partner, but Cloey was a total snob. She thought she was so strong with her Peacekeeper training, like she was better than the rest of us. Ever since she volunteered, I'd hated her smug face. I wasn't going out to hunt for her, but if we crossed paths, her pretty face was about to get ugly.

* * *

Martyna Stark- District Three female

Things were looking great. Me, Isabelline and Joella all had a ton of supplies, and the Careers were long gone. Our only concern was getting to an area with more cover, since the flat savannah didn't provide much to hide behind or under. When we saw a patch of land dotted with dirt towers, we went straight for it.

"What all do we have?" I asked when we sat down. We dumped our packs.

"A blanket? Why?" Joelle said, unfolding a thin blanket.

"That's kind of funny," I admitted. "But we can use it for shade."

"I got some plastic, a canteen-" Isabelline looked inside. "Full. Score! A multitool, a little hatchet, and a first aid kit."

"I got some sunglasses. Weird, but useful. Another canteen, empty. A hand-cranked flashlight, and a package of tortillas."

"Better make them last. There's not much out here," Isabelline said.

"I don't know," Joella said. "If I'm not wrong, these are termite mounds."

I'd thought the itching on my legs was just grass. When I shifted and saw the tiny bugs, I yelped. On closer inspection, though, they weren't hurting anything.

"They don't look like mutts," Joella said.

"They haven't eaten us yet," I said.

"We might eat them though," Isabelline said.

I'd feel bad eating the cute little ant-like bugs, but it was a cruel world out here. If ant tacos were on the menu, oh well.

* * *

Isabelline Thayer- District Eight female

The first day in the Arena was already over. I hadn't known if I'd make it that far, and certainly not my whole alliance. We'd gotten this far, and the evening was beautiful. The orange-red sunset burned bright against the golden grass, leaving a single green tree as the only splash of contrast. The air was fresh and cool, and the termite mounds cast long shadows across the dirt.

"Did you think we'd all make it this far?" I asked my allies.

Shadows shifted across Joella's face as she sat up. "I didn't really think about it. I didn't want to."

"I thought we would," Martyna said.

"Do you think we'll win?" I asked. It did me good to know there was someone who would always be optimistic.

"Not me. I just hope I do my best," Martyna said.

"What kind of question is that?" Joella asked, obviously upset. "We shouldn't talk about dying."

"We have to talk about it eventually," Martyna said.

"But not now," I agreed. "It's a pretty sunset, isn't it?"

"It's beautiful. I never get to see all these stars in Three," Martyna said. I looked up at all the tiny lights just starting to prick through the warm colors.

"We'll have to move tomorrow," Joella said. "We'll be out of water."

"I'm sure we'll find some," I said. The Gamemakers wouldn't want everyone to dehydrate.

"Hey, you guys want to hear a joke?" Martyna asked.

"Definitely," Joella said.

"Why didn't the neutron need help carrying his things?" she asked.

"Why?" I asked.

We never heard the answer. Just like we never heard the arrow. We only saw it, sticking straight from the back of her head.

* * *

 **21st place: Martyna Stark- Shot by Rose**

 **I had a lot of contenders this year. It was hard to find anyone to kill, hence the tiny Bloodbath. I finally had to bite the bullet and start whacking people I thought wouldn't win, no matter how much I liked them. That's why it came down to Martyna. A lot of people thought she'd last a long time, so I decided to shake things up and whack the sweet one early. I also decided to go for mood whiplash and kill her out of nowhere, like Pulp Fiction or something classy like that. Martyna defied stereotypes and did her own thing, which is braver than Three Tributes tend to be. She was easy to write and great for starting interactions. She was the linchpin, so we shall see what happens to Joella and Isabelline. Thanks Prince of Corinth for someone so hard to kill.**


	32. Taking Sides

Antonia Alix Da Costa- District Four female

Everything was politics in the Games. However I felt about Valerian, it didn't make a lick of difference. It was neither a chore nor a pleasure to nurse her, because she wasn't the focus in all this. Back in the Bloodbath, I provided initial first aid by staunching the blood flow. By doing so, I demonstrated my healing skills. If she died now, the others would blame me. Not in a vindictive sense, but in a practical one. They would think I was useless as a healer, and that was one of my main defenses. I could defend myself in a fight, but the best war was one that never broke out.

Luckily, she wasn't as bad off as she looked. The lioness' bite missed the larger arteries, which was why she wasn't dead. She would have sustained massive infections and been left with a limp at best under normal wilderness circumstances, but the Cornucopia was full of equipment. I was shoving antibiotics at her as fast as she would eat them, and I irrigated and changed her bandages regularly. She still couldn't walk yet, but that didn't stop her from trying.

"This sucks," Valerian said, her bad leg stretched out and her other cocked to her chest. "I should be out there with Mahi and Rose." They'd left to do recon on separate sides of the Cornucopia, leaving me and Cloey with Valerian. Normally one Career would be enough to stand guard, even a wounded one, but Kio and Bronze were dangerous, especially with their allies.

"You'll be better in a few days," I said.

"They'll have killed Kio and Bronze by then, and those will be the only fun fights," Valerian said.

"I'm sure you'll have fun when we break up," Cloey said from the other side of the fire. She was looking down at it, and it flickered over her face.

 _And what will you do then?_ I wondered. Cloey had "morals". I didn't think she'd be out to stab anyone in the back. She also had Peacekeeper tactics bouncing around in her head. I wasn't sure she'd even fight. She might make a tactical retreat and wait for a better opportunity.

Grass rustled, and all three of us jumped. I scolded myself mentally when I saw it was only Rose. She just wanted to make sure we saw her from a long way off, so she didn't look like she was sneaking up. The day was long over, and she and Mahi were heading in to regroup.

* * *

Cloey Daleigh- District Seven female

"How you feeling?" Rose asked Valerian.

"Better. Ready to fight," she said.

"Always, I'm sure," Antonia said.

"Think she'll be better by tomorrow?" Rose asked.

"With how fast these meds are working, it wouldn't surprise me," Antonia asked.

 _She's in a good mood today,_ I thought. Rose usually didn't say much. Even this was a lot for her. My mind started down a sinister path, and I took a step back. Paranoia was part of being a Career. There was a time for it, but not the second day. I needed to watch out for real problems, not invent my own.

"Mahi and I met up a few hours ago. He noticed some muddy ground and was going to look for any watering holes. I'm sure he'll be back soon," Rose said.

"After we regroup, we should send out another hunting party," Antonia said. "I can go this time. Valerian's in good shape."

"How about you, Cloey? Itching for a fight?" Valerian asked.

"I'm ready for one. And Antonia should have backup," I said. I hadn't even wanted Rose and Mahi to split up. You never went on a mission alone.

Rose started to rustle through some bags in the Cornucopia. She was probably hungry, even with the supplies she brought with her. Or maybe she was about to set up some bedding.

For an instant, firelight glinted off the knife she took from the bag. She kept talking as she walked behind Antonia, who was changing Valerian's bandage. She glanced at me, and we locked eyes. There was a swift question in her gaze.

 _She's going to kill her,_ I knew. She was going to kill her, and she wanted to know what I was going to do. Morals and practicality clashed inside me. It was wrong to stab someone in the back. Dead was dead, no matter how. Peacekeepers looked out for their sisters. This wasn't the Academy. This wasn't right. I needed to shove my feelings down if I wanted to keep my status.

I had a split second to react. I made my choice, and I did nothing. Rose slid the knife between Antonia's ribs, and I became her accomplice.

* * *

Valerian Mercury- District Two female

"Woah, woah, woah!"

I scrambled back away from Antonia, grabbing up a short sword and turning my back to the mouth of the Cornucopia so I wasn't boxed in. Antonia wasn't dead yet. Rose put a knee on her back, pulled her head up, and slit her throat. Blood sprayed all over me. It even got in my mouth, which was disgusting but felt sort of badass.

I glanced at Cloey, who was looking away guiltily. "You _knew!_ " I yelled. I hadn't thought she was like that, not that I blamed her. She was tougher than I thought.

Rose stepped over Antonia's leaking body and raised her knife at me.

"Think again," I said, holding out my sword. Rose was unimpressed as she looked down at my half-seated form, so I elaborated. "Yeah, you'll kill me, but not without a fight. You want to deal with infection? Because I can tell you, it sucks. And you just killed the healer."

"Cloey knows that stuff," Rose said.

"Better hope she knows roots and berries, because we're almost out of antibiotics," I said. It took a lot to keep a half-gone leg from going bad. Antonia had just been saying we'd have to hope for sponsors soon.

"I'll get sponsors," Rose said.

"'K. Then go ahead," I challenged. I really did mean it, but I also saw Mahi approaching from behind Rose and Cloey. If he just kept his cool, we could turn the tables…

"Hey. What's up?" Mahi asked, waving as he reached us. Rose and Cloey whirled around, and he nonchalantly looked down. "Antonia is already in- ohhhhh."

Through it all, Rose kept her cool. "Let's not fight," she said.

"I think that one sailed," I remarked.

"Here's how it's going down. Cloey and I are going to take whatever we want," Rose said to Mahi. "You can stay with Valerian if you want. I don't care. Just stay away from us."

"You two are together now?" Mahi asked Cloey.

"Yeah. I guess so," Cloey said. She halfheartedly helped Rose gather supplies as Mahi and I clustered back-to-back, weapons up. We weren't in much position to stop them, but this wasn't over. As they were leaving, I called after them.

"Ooh, when I start walking again, you're in _big trouble!"_

* * *

Antonia Alix da Costa- District Four female

 _This isn't a fair way to go._

Of course it wasn't fair. Hardly anyone won the Games fairly. It wasn't fair anyone was here at all. I just came here to help my family. In a fair world, I wouldn't have had to.

* * *

 **20th place: Antonia Alix da Costa- stabbed by Rose**

 **Sorry Rose is killing so many people. It's just a coincidence. I decided to break up the pack early and kill Antonia, and she was the most likely suspect. I've had a really hard time figuring out who to kill, so Antonia came up by default. Once I decided that, this idea came about. Mostly I picked her because I didn't have a solid idea for her Victor life, and then I might as well get it done with. Antonia wasn't OP and she had a reason to volunteer. She had a good story going, I just didn't finish it. Thanks MRKenn for Antonia, who kind of just didn't win the lottery.**


	33. Pinned you Again

COIL OXIDA- Max Solstice

Coil was so smart. I thought he was smart enough to win. But that didn't matter, did it? Sometimes stupid people came out on top. It was things you couldn't control, like money for training. If that money went to people like Coal, maybe we wouldn't have the Games.

* * *

MARTYNA STARK- Joella Krame

There was no fixing what happened to Martyna. Our souls might go on forever, or maybe not, but our bodies were so fragile. There were worlds inside us, but one little arrow hole let them all out, and they could never go back in.

* * *

Gidget Ford- District Three mentor

My first year mentoring, and Three was the first one out. I barely thought about that, though. I was thinking about Coil and Martyna, and the two mothers. I lost years of my children's lives, but they'd lost their children. They were the only people who could understand, and I was the last person they wanted to see.

* * *

Antonia Alix da Costa- Mahi Arapaima

It wasn't even smart. Now the Careers were split into pairs. Bronze and Kio had allies, and now we were on the wrong side of the numbers. My District partner was dead because Rose did something objectively boneheaded.

* * *

Dylan Buddard- Historia Brunby

That made me the youngest person left. No problem- young people won all the time, right? It wasn't like the average age for a Victor was seventeen. But I never was average.

* * *

Mak Jonson- Hlenn Rambutan

We came from the same District, but we weren't the same. Mak was a bully. There was nothing worthwhile about him, and the world was better off without him. Sometimes the Games did good.

* * *

Aldous Bridge- District Twelve male

I needed water. I was already dehydrated. My mouth was dry, and I wasn't sweating. If I didn't get water within hours, I would die. Most of us would, unless the Gamemakers put water somewhere. That was what kept me going. They would know we couldn't last long, so the water had to be near.

Even without glasses, I could see the water hole in the distance. I squinted, and the blurry lines sharpened a little. It was a river, wide enough to stay wet in the sun but shallow enough to walk across. I wanted to run right at it, but I knew I had to be careful. Everyone else needed water, too. This was the most contested territory in the Arena. I could only hope I was the first.

I didn't see anyone else at the river. There were no footprints I could see, and I didn't hear anything. Still, I was cautious as I moved forward. I looked over my shoulder every few steps, in case someone had set up an ambush. I was thankful for the mud by the riverbanks, which made my steps silent. There was a clump of tall grass and the hood of a single tree, which had dropped some broken branches on the ground. I took a note of them, since I knew leopards liked to hide in trees and might snap a few branches as they climbed.

Even the water wasn't safe. It definitely had germs, even though running water was the safest. My first thought, though, was crocodiles. I picked up some pebbles and tossed them into the water from a safe distance. Nothing happened, so I tried again a few feet closer. When nothing happened again, I knew I was as safe as I was going to get. I knelt by the river's edge and scooped some water to my hands. For no good reason, I didn't want to drink straight with my mouth.

Beside me, the mud came to life. One of the broken sticks rose up as a mud-covered Tribute leapt at me from the tall grass. He stabbed me before I had time to move, but his crude spear didn't have the weight or sharpness to go through me. It just skewered me like I'd fallen onto it, punching out a hole of flesh and splintering inside me. The Tribute holding it half-tripped over the sudden halt, and we both tumbled into the mud.

Mud-splattered and nearsighted, I could barely make out who I was fighting, but I fought back anyway. As the boy pulled out the spear to stab again, I hooked my thumb into his eye socket and twisted. I'd never heard a noise like what he made as his eye slimed out into the air. I felt something hard and cordlike, and then another punch as he stabbed me again. Mud and blood caked onto every bit of me as he stabbed again and again, until blood loss and shredded flesh did what his spear couldn't.

* * *

Kio Stone- District Two male

I was out scouting when I saw the boy. Right away, I wished I'd been with the others. I knew what they would have said, and it would have kept me from this.

You shouldn't kill unless you have to. It was what my allies would have said. It was what I learned all my life, until I started training. It was what we were born thinking, and it was what Kaynah was saying now.

 _I have to get home,_ I argued.

You're going to make him pay for your mistake?

 _Mom and Dad already lost you. They shouldn't lost two children._ I looked down at the boy, who lay helpless at my feet. As soon as I'd seen him, training took over, and I'd thrown a rock at his head. His fate was out of his hands now.

Don't. Don't make this something noble.

 _You killed people,_ I argued. For all her talk, Kaynah had no problem trying to win her Games. Her youngest victim was thirteen.

I died anyway. All it did was make me die a murderer.

Only seven people had ever won the Games without killing anyone. That seemed like a lot, but how many people had died? More than a thousand.

This is what you will be for the rest of your life. There's no going back from this, Kaynah said. I felt her soul bearing down on me, trying to stop me from taking her path.

 _He'll die anyway. He's been unconscious for ten minutes._ You didn't take that kind of trauma without permanent damage. At best, he'd wander around in a daze and dehydrate or happen across someone less unsure.

Rationalize it. It doesn't make it better.

I didn't want to kill anyone. I never should have entered the Games. But I had, and there was no going back from that either. There was no way to win this.

Don't do it, Kaynah said.

"I don't want to die," I said. I buried my axe in the back of the boy's head. There was more blood than anyone but a Career would have thought possible. It flowed like a river, all over the grass at my feet. I wondered if Max saw Kaynah on his way out.

Max Solstice- District Eight male

Anything could happen in the Games. I could win, or I could die any moment. Historia could win it all, or Rose could end everyone's dreams. I'd seen the Games make heroes out of cowards, and villains out of saints. The Games laid people bare to their souls, and sometimes it even changed those. I wondered what it would do to me. I was still wondering when the rock hit me.

* * *

 **19th place: Aldous Bridge- stabbed by Brad**

 **Brad WAS in an alliance, but he hasn't found them yet and is doing things on his own while he looks. I've been sort of cleaning up shop by killing people I didn't think would win, and Aldous is the latest. I would have had him live longer and further his development, but I finally thought that life isn't that neat. Sometimes people don't get full stories. Thanks Candlefire for Aldous. He had so much room to learn and grow, and all that was cut short. That's the nature of the Games, isn't it?**

 **18th place: Max Solstice- Axed by Kio**

 **Same here. Max didn't have much to win with, and his political nature was hard to express in the Arena. He was hard to have win both in-universe and out, so I killed him. Kio's form mentioned he would debate whether or not to kill. That fit in, since I frankly needed more killers. Otherwise it will just be Rose over and over. Max tied that puzzle together, to mix a metaphor. Thanks to 66samvr for Max. He was a good Tribute. There were just a lot of good ones this year.**


	34. In Which Nothing Happens

Falcon Jacobs- District Ten male

It was dark when Kio got back. Something about him seemed darker than the night. We all noticed it when he sat down. I was just the first.

Everyone was silent. The only sound was the crackling of our fire, carefully set inside a scraped-out ring of dirt splashed all around with water. It was more for socialization than anything else, and of course it had been my idea.

"See anything?" I asked, after a moment. We'd heard the cannons, but I didn't see any sign he was there. There was only a smudge on his shoe, dark enough to be either mud or blood. Maybe it had been there from the Bloodbath. I'd never noticed it before.

"No," Kio said.

The fire crackled. Kaulan said something about getting ready for tomorrow, and I absentmindedly responded. Kio looked into the fire, like he didn't want to look somewhere else. He had always been quiet, but now it seemed he was actively _not_ speaking, instead of passively declining to speak.

"We thought we'd have some noodles," Kaulan said. He stirred the pot we'd hung from our pop-up spit. We'd gotten so much at the Bloodbath, we hardly had to worry about hunting or gathering. Kio said nothing.

The Anthem played. Aldous and Max appeared in the sky. Kio didn't look, and he seemed unbothered. I wondered if one of them had been him. If they had, no matter. I knew who I was allying with, and I wasn't the judge of him.

"Maybe tomorrow we'll find Brad," I said. I hated the empty silence. Brad was many things, but he was never quiet. Right now, we needed one of his irreverent jokes.

* * *

Historia Brunby- District Ten female

It took me two minutes to lose Dima. It took me two days to find her.

She wasn't the first one I found. I heard Mahi hunting and had to crouch in the grass like a mouse, hoping he wouldn't see me. Then I saw Mak eating from a can. I thought about going up to him. He'd seemed nice during training. But I didn't really know him, and I definitely didn't know how he'd react to the Games. I kept to myself, laying low and chewing on grass to pretend I wasn't hungry. My only water had come from a muddy puddle, and I needed to find more soon. I couldn't keep getting lucky.

Something appeared in the sky. I thought it was a mutt and dove for cover, but it was just a parachute. I excitedly tore the little box open, wondering what Ten had sent me.

Inside, I found a little glass water bottle and an even tinier bottle of pills. Along with it, there was a note.

 _Hi Historia,_

 _Daddy says I'm not allowed to send any more than one package, and he only gave me a few options. I tried to help as much as I could, so here's some water and clean water tablets. I hope you win. Thanks for playing cards with me._

 _Your friend,_

 _Rose Snow_

"Thanks!" I said to the sky. The bottle was tiny, but I had a lot of tablets. I could live for the whole Games if I just found some water, even if it was dirty. _There's even enough to share with Dima, if I find her._

First I found Bronze. Really, he found me. He was better at spotting things than Mahi.

"Hey," he said. I got ready to run, even though I knew he'd catch me, but he sat down.

"Don't worry. Truth be told, I didn't even want to come here. You should probably keep moving, though. I think Kio's in it to win," he said.

"Okay. Good luck," I said as I went.

"You too," he called after me.

I was starting to think I'd run across everyone else in the Arena, and about how small the Arena must be, when I finally found Dima trying to climb a tree with purple fruit.

"Found you!" I called. I shimmied up the tree and picked a fruit.

"Are they good?" Dima asked.

"I don't know. I didn't try it. They might be poisonous," I said.

"It's either that or we starve," Dima pointed out.

"You're not wrong," I said. I nibbled the fruit. It tasted like dirty water, but I didn't die.

"Tastes fine," I called down. Now we had water _and_ food.

* * *

Theo Mulroy- District Twelve female

We had water bottles, but they wouldn't last forever. We were getting pretty nervous by the time we found the watering hole. We weren't the first, though. Half a dozen zebras were clustered around, drinking and swishing their tails. Sometimes they yipped. I had no idea zebras made that noise. It was like a high-pitched goblin giggle.

"I got this," I said. I picked up a rock and threw it at the water. The zebras jerked their head up at the splash. One shied away and looked all around. When they didn't leave, I tossed another pebble, this time hitting one of them in the side. It did that giggle and ran away. The others followed, raising dust as they ran. I felt bad bothering them, but we needed water.

"Just the way I like it. Mucky and brown," Adira said as she filled a bottle. Hlenn took the iodine from our supplies and started treating the water.

"It will be better when it's chemical-y and gross," she said.

"Let's get water and go," I said. "It's good to know where this is, but the Careers probably do, too."

"Did they split up? Antonia's dead," Adira said.

"And Valerian got mauled by a lion," Hlenn said.

"Wish I was a lion," I said.

I'd never thought about how boring most of the Games were. All those cameras were to make sure something interesting was always happening. Our camera guy must have been pretty frustrated, since we spent the rest of the day in a clump of ten-foot grass chatting. It was hot out there, and there were Careers out and about. Like most of the animals, we were happy to sit and conserve our energy.

* * *

 **I wasn't lying this time. Someone said there would be a lull in deaths soon and I was like "okay".**

 **I forgot to mention that the photon didn't need help with his bags because he was traveling light. Did I say photon or proton? Whoops**


	35. Slizzards

**Shoot I said neutron. It was supposed to be photon.**

* * *

Bronze Castila- District One male

"You killed one of them, didn't you?" I asked Kio the next day, when we were a bit ahead of our allies.

"No," he said, but he wasn't fooling me.

"It's no big deal. Don't take it so hard. You're just trying to stay alive," I said. Maybe I'd feel bad killing someone, but Kio was a Career. It was part of life. And there was no taking it back now, so better to move on and forget about it.

Kio didn't respond, and I let it drop. I just wanted him to know he wasn't a terrible person.

"Hey, look. Elephant."

I didn't really need to say anything. I was pretty sure Kio could see the giant elephant milling around in the short grass. It had a ridiculously long trunk, and they it pointed it at us when it noticed us.

"I don't think that's an elephant," Kio said. He signaled our allies to stop and warily regarded the animals.

"Don'y worry. Elephants are chill," I said. As long as we didn't hurt their babies or something, they wouldn't attack us. All the same, I backed away respectfully when it started walking our way.

"Do elephants have snakes for trunks?" Kio asked.

"What? No- oh." Looking closer, I saw the lump on the ends of its trunk was actually a head. A snake head. That was not an elephant. It was an elephant-snake.

The mutt had been walking, but as soon as we started to run, it started galloping. I heard the hissing as it got closer. We couldn't outrun an elephant. I knew the only question was who was the slowest.

Lucky me. I'd been in the front, and the elephant caught me before I made up the others' head start. The mutt's head shot out and bit my shirt, pulling me back and off the ground. It twirled me rapidly, twisting me all up in its coils. I'd gotten my knife out before it pinned me arms, and I stabbed at its mouth as it constricted. In such close quarters, it couldn't get away. It was hard to get my knife into its thick skin, but I made my way through. In seconds I couldn't breathe, but I still had time. As my bones started to crunch and I could feel the blood pooling under my skin, the mutt's mouth was shredded to ribbons. Peacekeeper Harris wasn't going to be happy. At least my death did some good. And the snake wasn't looking too gleeful, either. All in all, I'd call it a tie.

* * *

Dima Emmer- District Five female

When Historia and I found the river, we were cautious. Surely we weren't the first. We quickly found evidence to prove it. There was a big torn-up section of mud, like there had been a fight. A set of footprints led away from the river, and some of them were bloody.

"Whoever it was, they're gone," Historia pointed out.

"You fill up the water, and I'll climb the tree to see if anyone is near," I said. I grabbed the tree trunk.

"Why do you get to be the one who climbs the tree?" Historia asked.

"Because you just taught me how. I want to try it out," I said.

"Funny how I always get the more dangerous job," Historia grumbled. She wasn't really upset yet, but I had to be careful.

"I don't want to hold your water bottle. I'm afraid I'll drop it or something," I said.

"If I get eaten, it's your fault," she said. She cautiously walked to the water's edge and bent down, taking her bottle from her pocket.

It was like a cartoon. Historia was knocked aside like a leaf in the wind when a long section of water rose and melted off the crocodile with blinding speed. Her limbs flailed in a movement no human could make on purpose, and the bottle sank lightly into the mud. It threw her down, then tossed her back up before her hair even hit the water. Its head shook back and forth as it disappeared back into the water, dragging her under. The surface of the river left no evidence after a second, and there had been no sound but the initial splash.

 _That's why I wanted to climb the tree,_ I thought. I hadn't known there was a crocodile, but I hadn't known if there wasn't one, either. I felt bad about Historia, but that was the Games. I picked up a stick from under the tree. Carefully, staying far away from the edge, I hooked the bottle with the stick and pulled it to me.

* * *

Historia Brunby- District Ten female

I didn't want to think about dying, even at the end. That was something that happened to old people. I knew people died in the Games, but I didn't think it would be me. I'd always wanted to see a crocodile. I just didn't want to see one that close.

* * *

Valerian Mercury- District Two female

Mahi wasn't much of a nurse. Despite him, I was better. I stood, carefully putting weight on my bad leg.

"Looks like I'm good as new," I said. "Thank the Capitol and hard drugs."

"Are we still a pack? There's only two of us," Mahi said.

"About that," I said. "I was thinking of setting out on my own. I came here to fight, and I've been going crazy sitting around. You've been cool. You probably could have killed me while I was hurt. Well, probably not. But you didn't even try. And frankly, you're not the toughest guy. I want some _real_ action."

"Rose and Cloey?" Mahi asked.

"I hope those two are last. That would be an epic finale. But yeah, eventually. Kio, Bronze, Cloey, Rose... I'm going for them. Then, if I kill them all and you're still around, I'll come kill you," I said.

"Cool," Mahi said. He always was a chill guy, plus he probably had plans of my own. Or he thought I was going to get myself killed. Which was a possibility.

"See you around," I called over my shoulder as I left, taking enough dehydrated food and water bottles to last at least a week.

"Not if I see you first," he called after me. Isn't that the truth?

* * *

 **This chapter was short so I added some for Valerian. I didn't credit her a POV, though, since this hers is short.**

 **17th place: Bronze Castila- Constricted by an elephant-snake**

 **I wanted to kill someone by elephant-snake, and since Bronze didn't want to kill, he was just taking up space. His form requested a cool death, and elephant-snake is pretty unique. Usually I do mundane mutts or just plain wildlife, but I thought I'd try something new. I always was a fan of cheap Syfy hybrids. Roger Corman said he would keep my ideas (batshark and sharkogator) in mind. Anyway, thanks 4everlark for Bronze. I like Careers with motivation and conflict, so he was welcome. He didn't die just because he didn't want to kill. It just sped it up since I'm trying to streamline things.**

 **16th place: Historia Brunby- Eaten by crocodile**

 **People thought she'd die next, so I was annoyed I actually ended up doing that. It was because I was trying to balance male and female deaths, mostly. I would have had her last a long time, but I always do that to the cute ones. I diverge from canon with Victors so everyone has an equal chance, but that didn't do her any good. It was going to happen eventually, so I bridged the gap between always killing young ones in the Bloodbath and having them last way too long by having her die pretty much in the middle. Thanks to person whose name I forgot to write down for providing Historia on very short notice so I could get started.**


	36. Butcher

**Forgot the Three reaction!**

* * *

BRONZE CASTILA- Kio Stone

There was nothing I could have done. I should have been happy a big fighter was out, but I missed Bronze. Even if he never took anything seriously and he was a party animal, he was a cool guy. He always tried to encourage me, and I would remember that.

* * *

District Three

Statistically, it didn't matter that we'd just won. Probability isn't affected by the past. Coil and Martyna had the same chance as any other year. At least, Coil did. The Starks blamed themselves for not sending sponsor gifts faster, and the Oxidas tried to stay detached, but just because we're logical, that doesn't mean we don't have feelings.

* * *

Max Solstice- Isabelline Thayer

I hadn't known Max. I didn't really have any District loyalty to him. I wanted Eight to win so we could get the food and stuff, but I didn't particularly want Max to win because we lived near each other. He might have been a terrible person, or maybe he was good. I'd never know.

* * *

Historia Brunby- Falcon Jacobs

Of course I was rooting for Historia. In most people's minds, I was the worst of Ten. She was the best. She was just a nice little girl who never hurt anything. A lot of people were going to be disappointed if I won.

* * *

Aldous Bridge- Theo Mulroy

Nubu mentioned Aldous had a sister. It sounded like she was one of the "odd" ones, to say what my grandmother would have said. If that was the case, she might not even miss him. I hoped that was true.

* * *

Mark Lafayette- District Five male

All I took from the Cornucopia was a plastic sheet, an emergency blanket and a coil of rope. Everything else I could get myself. I set myself up in a fat tree that looked like its roots were on the top. With the plastic, I gathered the water that transpired from the leaves every morning. With the rope, I made a trap. And with the emergency blanket, I baited it. I tore off a little chunk and scrunched it all up so its random angles flapped in the wind and caught the sunlight. I watched it shine while I waited.

"This is not ideal," I said to myself. I didn't like having no one else around. I didn't want allies, sure, but I liked talking to people. It was so big and empty and boring on the savanna. Even without the lions and stuff, the people who used to live here would have had to live in groups. They'd go crazy by themselves.

A little brown bird alit on my branch. It bounced up and down a few steps, looking this way and that, and always back at my bait. I froze, mostly hidden by foliage and far enough away that I might not look like a threat. The little bird hopped forward and took my bait in its beak. The tiny stick it was balanced on fell, pulling the rope tight and snaring the bird. I flapped wildly, peeping and chirping. I reached out and grabbed it, pinning its wings in one hand. It looked so tiny and scared that I felt like a bully, but I needed to eat.

"Sorry, Tweetie," I said. I closed my eyes and grabbed the bird by the head. _I can't do it._ The thought of the resistance and the snapping break, of the dangling muscles and veins after I twisted the head backwards and probably off entirely, was too much. Instead I smacked the bird's head against the tree branch above me. It started twitching and convulsing, and I knew it was dead.

 _Now I can eat like a king,_ I thought as I looked at the little bird, barely bigger than my hand. I was going to need to catch a lot more birds.

Another bird flew near the tree, above my head. I looked up and saw a black and white bird with a frog in its beak. The bird stopped on a branch, and I thought it would eat the frog. Instead it straight up skewered the frog on a sharp broken twig. The frog, which was still alive, kicked and squirmed as the bird flew away.

 _What the heck? The Capitol must have made that._ I'd never heard of a serial killer bird that impaled things and didn't even eat them. It made me feel less guilty when I climbed up and stole its frog.

* * *

Rose O'Durren- District One female

 _I screwed up._

Why would I split the Careers? Bronze and Kio were still out there, with all their allies. I had the weakest remaining Career with me, and we were their biggest targets. My instructors always told me this would be what did me in. _You're a great fighter,_ they said, _but you're so_ impulsive! It had seemed like a good idea at the time. I saw a prime opportunity to take out my biggest threats and cripple the survivors. I did that, all right, but I forgot those threats were protecting me from a slightly smaller but still deadly threat. Too late now. All I could do was damage control.

"It seemed pretty early to leave the pack," Cloey commented, trying to sound respectful and merely curious.

"It was the smart thing to do. The Careers haven't had many victories lately. It's because we've been relying on each other too much," I improvised.

"Guess you know what you're doing," Cloey said. She looked like she didn't know either way, and I saw my strategy. Cloey was trained as a _Peacekeeper,_ not a Career. Peacekeepers depended on teamwork and order, and Peacekeepers had a defined hierarchy.

"Of course. I was top of my class. Student leader, even," I said. The first half was true, but I lied about the student leader thing. No student would trust another to have their best interests at heart.

"Student leader?" Cloey asked, her eyes widening.

"It was my job to make sure we were all putting in the work, and I reported any problems to the instructors," I lied.

"I always wanted to be a squad leader in the Peacekeeper Academy," Cloey said.

"I'm sure you would have been," I said, and I didn't need to lie.

That night, I had a stroke of luck. I'd already patched things up a lot, and I was starting to formulate a new course to make up for my mistake. Then I saw Bronze's face in the sky. I couldn't take any credit for that, but it was the best thing that could have happened.

* * *

 **Ha ha everyone was like "oh no who's the butcher" and it was a bird. RIP frog.**


	37. Changed my Mind I'll Kill Them Next Time

Kaulan Kippton- District Six male

I couldn't find my allies. Well, Bronze was dead, so I couldn't find Kio and Falcon. When we were running from the elephant snake, I must have taken a different direction, and I hadn't stopped until I heard the cannon. That had taken at least ten minutes, and in the tall grass, that was a long way to find my allies.

Perhaps more pressing, I was out of water. I only had one bottle in my pack, and it was empty. I had to take care of that first, so I headed in any direction that seemed to slope downwards. I expected to find a watering hole, but instead I found a river. A girl was by it. She was trying to hide, but the grass wasn't thick enough. She was small and didn't seem armed, so I announced my presence by waving.

"Excuse me. I just want water," I called. When she didn't run or attack, I moved closer.

"Wait," she said when I was in easy hearing range. "Don't go near the water. There's a crocodile."

"What?" I asked, leaping back. "Thanks! Have you been here a long time?"

"About two days," she said. "I'm Dina. I was here with my ally, but she got eaten." She started to cry, and it smeared the mud on her face.

"I'm sorry. Oh, I'm Kaulan. I'm sorry…" I said.

Dina wiped her cheek and smiled sadly. "It's okay. And we can still get water. You just have to climb this tree and lower the bottle in with something. I've been using a strip of my shirt," she said.

"Neat. Thanks," I said. I filled my bottle the same way. Or rather Dina did, after I couldn't climb the tree. "You mind if I stick around a while?" I asked.

"It's okay. I was hoping someone would come by. It's scary on my own," Dina said.

"All right. Let's take this together."

* * *

Adira Baelyn- District Six female

"Another day gone. Nine children dead," Theo remarked.

"Hope they're having fun watching," Hlenn said darkly.

"It's not so bad," I said, and everyone looked at me. I hadn't said much since the Games began, or before that, really. I just didn't like hearing them talk about the Capitol that way.

"I suppose it could be worse. They could kill forty-eight kids every year," Theo jeered.

"They do a lot of good, too," I said.

"Like what?" Hlenn asked.

"They helped me," I said.

"They didn't help me," Hlenn said.

"They didn't help my sister," Theo said.

"Would you still like them if they hadn't helped you one time?" Hlenn asked. "I think maybe your standards are too low."

The Capitol changed my life, and for the better. All my life, I'd ignored the Games. It didn't match up with what I knew about the Capitol. I couldn't believe the fairylike angels who did so much for me could be the same people who sent children to die. I didn't understand it, and I didn't think I wanted to. Being here was making me face things I hoped I could keep looking away from. I saw them as benefactors, but Theo knew them as the ones who took her sister. Hlenn only knew backbreaking labor and near-starvation. Why did things have to be complex? Why did the one good thing I ever had turn into this? I just wanted something good to hold on to. Maybe my standards were actually too high.

* * *

Joella Krame- District Nine female

We had a good thing going. There were a few scattered puddles in between the termite mounds, and we had purification tablets to spare. The mounds gave us shade from the hot sun, and they hid us from the Careers. We had almost everything we could need.

There was just one more thing that would make it perfect, and I was on the lookout. There were a few different options I would have taken, but I lucked out. Set partway inside a crevice in a fat tree, there was a beehive. A little furry animal had found it first. I let him eat for a while, then threw a rock at it. The striped animal whirled around, spitting and snarling. It saw me and ran right at me, even though it was the size of a raccoon.

 _Maybe that's not something to mess with,_ I thought, backing up. I let it be until it got done eating and stomped away. There was still plenty of honey left, and the animal had killed half the bees for me. I got the rest to scatter by throwing more rocks until the hive was in pieces. I must have killed the queen, because the bees moved away quickly.

Melinda loved bees. She said they were real-life fairies, spreading springtime and spinning gold in their little nests. I was sure happy for the goopy mess I scooped up into the empty tortilla package.

"Hey, I got honey," I said when I returned to our camp. Isabelline was getting more water, while Hlenn was scaling a termite mound.

"Honey? Heck yeah!" Hlenn jumped down and scooped some honey onto her finger. "That's good stuff," she said.

"And I think it might be even better," I said. After the tortillas ran out, we'd taken to popping the fat little termites like popcorn. Unfortunately, they preferred to stay underground when it was hot out, and it was a pain to snatch them one at a time.

I took a stick and stuck it into the honey. Then I snaked it down into a crack in the side of one of the mounds. After a minute I pulled it out. It was covered in termites. I held my catch to the light and examined it.

"No worries," I said.


	38. Nala's First Hunt

Hlenn Rambutan- District Eleven female

I hated the Games, but I loved the Arena. It was unlike anything I'd seen in Eleven, but it was the same, because it was wild. The sky stretched on forever, without a single tree to cast a shadow. Sitting on top of a termite mound, I could see for miles, miles of blue and gold. The Capitol was a world away, and even though they'd carved out this little piece of nature, they would never know it like I did.

My allies were good people, but everyone needed some alone time. They weren't big on climbing, so I got the termite mounds all to myself. It was my own world, up in the air like the rainforest canopy.

In the distance, the sky darkened. A shifting, amorphous black line hovered at the horizon. It looked like a cloud, but I'd never seen a storm blow in that fast. It grew translucent, showing me that it was countless separate specks instead of a mass. My first thought was of the locusts that sometimes devastated our crops. I was about to scramble down the hill, sure that any Capitol locusts would be carnivorous, but the swarm was moving too fast. There was nowhere to go, and nothing to do but hope I was wrong.

A sheet of shadow swept over the land as the swarm neared. I heard their cries, and they were the cries of birds. Then I saw the wings, brown and red and beating the air with such force I thought the sky might fall. At the horizon, they were still coming. I heard my allies stir beneath me, but I didn't look down. I only looked at the birds. They were tiny things, the size of a robin, but red as clay. Never had I seen more of anything at once than those birds. They filled the air and blotted out the sun. As they grew nearer, the sound of their wings was louder than a hovercraft. And then they reached me.

I had braced myself for a legion of tiny beaks tearing into me, but the birds swept me by like a statue. All around me they flew, their wings brushing my cheeks and their feet sliding through my hair. I could have reached out and grabbed one effortlessly, like picking out a piece of the sky. They arced individually, and the mass described a mobius in the air. I was in the eye of a living cyclone, the breeze lifting my hair and cooling the Arena around me.

It seemed like something that could only last a fleeting second, but the birds took minutes to pass entirely. They swooped around, doubling back before they went on their way. I watched them paint the sky red ahead of me, until they were gone, from one horizon to the other.

* * *

Joella Krame- District Nine female

There were so many reasons I was crying. There was the heartbreaking beauty of the birds, but at the same time, there was the fear they brought. I was sure we'd be torn apart by the swarm. We were helpless and awaiting death, and then it passed. The relief of salvation was tempered by the knowledge that it could happen again at any time, and there was nothing we could do about it. There was no pardon, only a stay.

"You'll get dehydrated," Isabelline said, but she was trying to be kind. I nodded and scraped the tears from my face.

"Guess we just have to keep going," I said.

"Isn't that always the way?" she agreed.

"But how do we keep trying if we know there's no hope?" I asked. In the end, nothing was up to us. The Capitol decided who lived and who died. Your job was decided by where you were born, and who you were born to. Your life was written by powers out of your hands.

"We keep trying to change it. One in a million times, someone does," Isabelline said. "Most of us don't get our dreams. But some people do."

 _My dreams._ I thought of all the things I'd worked toward before the Arena, a lifetime ago. What did a doctor do but defy fate? It used to be anyone who got sick or injured could only wait for death. Doctors seized half-gone souls and held them in place until the body grew back. And even if it didn't work, and the person died, I would still be living my dream. I wasn't asking to rewrite the stars. I just wanted to be a doctor, and that was something I could do.

So much of healing came from the patient. I thought back to the pain management techniques we'd used on pregnant women. No matter the advances, pregnancy was still dangerous. Every new mother risked death, and yet they still looked at childbirth as a blessing. They focused their breathing, concentrating on the vital motion instead of the pain. In the same way, they focused their thoughts, ignoring the danger and looking forward to the end. It didn't make it less dangerous, but it made it more bearable. I had to do the same. I couldn't think about the Arena, or it would drag me down like a quagmire. I had to look forward, to what came next. There was death and pain now, but after, I would fix that. I'd spend the rest of my life making up for all this.

* * *

Dina Emmer- District Five female

I should have been more careful. After Historia, I should have been checking every clump of grass and every pile of mud. But I didn't, and that was what started the whole mess.

I wasn't even by the water's edge when it happened. I was just walking along the river, looking for random plants or maybe a toad we could cook. Then the mud sprang to life and grabbed my foot. I shrieked and kicked it off as the rest of the Tribute appeared. I never should have been fooled. Half his face wasn't even disguised. I could see the livid skin and the horrific, stomach-turning eye. It _dangled._ It dangled from the socket, tethered by a shriveled line that should never, ever have been visible to a socket that was oozing pus and swollen far too small to ever fit the eye back inside. It was wrinkled and dry and dead. Only the pinkness of the flesh cord gave any sign of life and the pain it must still have been causing.

The boy fought to his feet as I ran. He was panting before he even started, and his jerky movements showed how sick he was. It was like a zombie was chasing me. I made it to the tree and clambered up like a chased cat. The boy stopped at the bottom, and my heart stopped when he started to climb.

"Wait!" I said. My tone gave the boy pause. I was scared, but I was also urgent.

"Wait a few minutes. My ally will come back. He's more of a threat to you. Kill him first," I said.

"You're lying," the boy said.

"Look, his footprints," I said, pointing to the trail Kaulan had left when he went out a bit to look for his allies. "He'll be back for water soon. We only have my bottle. Hide in the mud, and I'll call him."

"Why would you throw him under the bus?" the boy asked.

"I don't want to die," I said.

* * *

Kaulan Kippton- District Six male

My allies were nowhere to be found. I had the sick knowledge that we'd end up together eventually. Either the Gamemakers would force us together, or we'd all but one end up dead anyway.

On the way back, I started making a little poem for Dina. She'd been through so much, and Historia didn't get a proper burial.

 _Two little birds that tried to stay_

 _Together from west to east_

 _But when one was snatched up by a river beast_

 _The other had to fly away_

 _Fly away, fly away, little bird, fly away_

 _There was nothing you could have done_

 _Fly away, fly away, little bird, fly away_

 _Into the western sun_

I waved as I approached Dina, who was in the tree getting more water ready.

"No luck," I said. "They're probably looking for me too, though."

I reached up for the bottle Dina was lowering. Before I could touch it, the mud grabbed my foot and yanked it. I fell forward, splatting into the mud on my face. A weight pressed into my back. A hand grabbed my hair and shoved me down into the mud. I flopped and bucked, and for a moment, my face was clear. I saw Dina run down a branch over the river and jump when she reached the end, halfway across. She splashed into the water and frantically waded out. Then my face was in the mud again, as the frightfully strong Tribute pushed down with all his weight. Dina was never going to hear her poem, and it was just as well. If it was what I thought, she didn't deserve it.

* * *

Falcon Jacobs- District Ten male

Whoever sent me the matches, they were sick. I kept them in case we needed them. For _campfires._ Not fun fires.

It was random chance that saved us. I'd taken out a match to see what kind they were. If they weren't the waterproof kind, the ones that were a little harder to light, I'd have to take extra precautions to make sure we didn't accidentally start anything. As I held the match and box, I happened to look up, and I happened to see the sun glinting off Rose's raven-black hair.

Just as quickly, she saw me. She brought her bow up, aiming at Kio. As she did, I touched the match to the striking edge of the box.

"Do it, and I'll light this whole place up," I said.

"Everyone will die then," she said. Behind her, Cloey was fanning out, trying to flank us.

"I'm sure you studied us all. You know my past," I said. For once, I was glad for my reputation.

"So where we going from here?" Rose asked.

I struck the match. The scent of sulfur wafted up in a tendril of smoke.

"You have 'til this match burns down to get out of here. When it reaches my finger, I'll drop it whether or not I want to," I said.

Cloey drew back. Peacekeepers didn't like variables. Rose took a split second to weigh the odds, then followed, no doubt thinking that they snuck up on us once and could do it again. But now we knew they were there, and we'd be ready.

As they turned, I sagged in relief. I let down my arm. As the match lowered, brushing against the bone-dry grass, I realized what I'd done.

* * *

 **15th place: Kaulan Kippton- smothered by Brad**

 **Poetic Tributes always give me a chance to show off. Kaulan's melancholic nature contrasted nicely with the largely ambitious and future-oriented bunch this year. His fluxuating mental state was also realistic. I didn't pick him to win because he didn't have much really going for him as far as Victor skills, but I liked him. Thanks santiago for a tribute who gave me a chance to write alternative POV styles, which always breaks up the monotony.**


	39. Moto Moto

**I keep mixing up the girls because something about Hlenn's name messes with my dyslexic tendencies. It's Hlenn, Adira and Theo in one alliance, and Isabelline and Joella in the other. And it WAS Dina, not Dima. I must have had a Dima sometime.**

* * *

Falcon Jacobs- District Ten male

As soon as it happened, I knew it was the end. A single blade of grass lit, and it was like the Arena was gasoline. Fire sprayed out in all directions, scorching the air. As I dropped the match, the grass against my leg ignited my pants. I jumped back and slapped at them, but the synthetic material was already melting. It spread across my body, and as I tried dropping and rolling, the fire on the ground only added to it. After mere seconds of blinding pain, everything went cold. I loved fire, and I'd studied it deeply. I knew my nerves were seared. Anything more than 10% third-degree burns was almost always fatal, and my entire body was covered.

Of course it would be fire. And just like the first time, it was an accident.

* * *

Kio Stone- District Two male

I could barely outrun the flames. They licked at the grass at my ankles, scorching my back like a sunburn. Ash and black dust filled the air, stinging my eyes. I could hardly see where I was going.

It was harder and harder to breathe. My throat ached, and I thought I tasted blood from the dry, cracked skin inside. My head was light, and it felt like I was breathing through a straw. I coughed, sucking in burning air.

Suddenly, I was on the ground. I wasn't sure if I'd tripped or passed out. The heat was unbearable. The air shimmered, and ash and smoke blotted the sky. I couldn't stand. It was all I could do to breathe. Each breath was like being cooked from the inside out.

The smoke parted above me. Kaynah took shape in the air, as real as when I last saw her.

Hey, Kio, she said. Remember this? A memory flitted into my head, of the time she got me the coolest toy hovercraft for my birthday. Or this? The time I spent Homecoming night with my best friend Garrett, both of us swearing we'd never have a girlfriend. More moments came and went, like my greatest hits.

I don't know about you, but I don't want to stick around, Kaynah said. She looked at the approaching flames. I could stay a few more minutes, but it was only a choice between burning and smoke inhalation.

"Yeah, let's go," I said. She took my hand. Hers was warm, not like the last time I touched it.

You did your best, she said. That's all any of us can do.

* * *

Dina Emmer- District Five female

I was so far from the river when the fire came. I'd run and run, even after the cannon. Still, I tried to run back. Even with the crocodile, and the hurt boy, it was better than the fire. But the smoke was so fast. It filled the air, blowing in front of me so I couldn't even see where I was going. It burned my mouth and when it reached my lungs, all the oxygen was gone. It was like hyperventilating.

My tears cooled my face as I lay curled on the ground, gasping. Charred grass settled on my hair, like my own ashes. There was no way out of this one. There was no shifting the fire to someone else, or running across a river and hoping the crocodile wasn't there at that moment. The fire was everywhere, and it was everything. It was already looping around in front of me. I just hoped I died before it reached me.

* * *

Rose O'Durren- District One female

The wind was with us. All the same, the fire was never more than a few steps behind us. A cinder landed in my hair, and I smelled myself burning. It dropped off and fell down my shirt, scorching me all the way down. My eyes burned as I ran half-blind, barely aware of Cloey next to me. I heard the crackling like a pounding alarm, telling me how near we were to death.

The river looked like heaven. I wondered if I was imagining it. Cloey and I floundered across it, landing half-dead on the opposite shore. The fire was behind us, but the smoke still filled the air. We crawled, coughing and panting, barely strong enough to keep going.

Hours passed, and the fire still raged. Ash clung to every bit of us, making us as gray as statues. I didn't want to stand. I only wanted to breathe.

"How many died?" Cloey asked. The first word came out loud, but it was interrupted by a fit of coughing. The rest of the sentence was frail and weak, like an old woman.

"I don't know," I said. It hurt to talk. I could feel the air on my raw throat. Every word stuck on the way up, and I coughed constantly. I could barely whisper, like the air had been sucked out of me. It winded me just to sit up, and my skin burned all over like I'd been in the sun all day. My eyes stung, and they felt dried up. We didn't burn to death, but we still burned.

* * *

Brad Simpson- District Seven male

The fire didn't kill me, but only because I was already dying. I was burning to death, without the fire even touching me. I could see it across the river, still raging. Then clouds appeared out of nowhere, and the rain came down. It didn't stop me burning. My whole body was hot, so hot I thought I would burst from my skin. But that wasn't the worst.

My eye was like hell. It wept hot, sticky pus when I moved. The exposed nerves rubbed against my face, tugging on themselves and screaming out even more pain. I touched the tethering cord, wishing I had to fortitude to tear it out entirely. The radiating, stabbing, pulsing agony made me wish Satan was real just so I could sell him my soul.

I could hardly breathe. My breath came in shallow gasps, and bile leaked from my mouth whenever a tremor clenched my stomach. Then, all at once, I went cold. The pulse in my eye grew faint, but the pain stayed the same. Pus and fluid streaked my face like tears.

 _Just let me die. Nothing could be worse than this._

* * *

 **14th place: Falcon Jacobs- burned to death**

 **The form said it. I wasn't being *artistic*. Anyway, I had a hard time finding Falcon's story. I kept him around to search, since it would be mean to kill him just because I had a hard time writing him. This far in, I was good to do it and have him still have had a good run. Plus the fire set off a big chain of events. Thanks Nyan for a firebug who also had a good side and depth.**

 **13th place: Kio Stone- Smoke inhalation**

 **Kio was strong, so I didn't kill him. He was also reluctant to kill, which made it harder to win. He made his choice and started killing, but he still wasn't a villain. He didn't have the heart to win, so I killed him. He had a cool thing with his sister and his allies, but they're all dead now. Thanks JAJ for a reluctant Career with room to start killing and heart to stop.**

 **12th place: Dina Emmer- Smoke inhalation**

 **Her kind never wins, at least for most authors. It was hard for me to write her getting more evil, since I always want to bring Tributes up. But this has been more of a downer story in general, and Dina was part of that. She got two allies killed, but fire won't be bargained with. ItsaCatsworld wanted her to go bad and wanted her to die. I aim to please. Thanks Cat and I hoped your swan song was everything you wanted.**

 **11th place: Brad Simpson- Worst case of infection known to man**

 **OUCH. Brad's submitter made a good case that he shouldn't die early just because he's bad. I can admit I have my weaknesses, so I ate crow and made Brad live longer. He also wasn't really meant to win, and the death was slated to be natural. I hope everyone can be satisfied with the villainous Brad dying like that. It's only been a few days since his eye came out, but he was literally wallowing in the mud. It doesn't get much nastier than that. Thanks Pi for... that, and I'm glad to have my hands washed. I looked up pics of dangling optic nerves for you all. Sacrifices must be made for art. It was nasty.**

 **Most of the Arena still looks like savannah, since it's so big. The fire decimated one area, but there's more Arena left.**


	40. You'll Learn to Love Them

**I wrote an extra chapter yesterday so I could update today!**

* * *

KIO STONE- Valerian Mercury

 _Doggonit!_ How could I get in real fights if the strong ones kept dying? Kio just had to go die before I could kill him.

Dina Emmer- Mark Lafayette

She seemed like such a nice girl. It was probably the fire. I hoped she died before the flames got to her. They say that's usually how it happens.

Kaulan Kippton- Adira Baelyn

His poem for the interview was pretty. He must have had so many more to write. It was probably the fire that killed him. That wasn't the Gamemakers' fault. It was so dry in here, anything could have done it. And I knew it wasn't them, since they sent the rain to stop it. They tried to help us. They just weren't fast enough for Kaulan.

Brad Simpson- Cloey Daleigh

People die in war. Usually it's not divided among good people and bad people. Sometimes the bad people even win. I was happy that wasn't the case this time.

Falcon Jacobs- Hlenn Rambutan

That crazy fool actually did it. It was definitely him. I'd never felt the urge toward fire, but I understood the beauty. I wondered if that was what he wanted. Did he just want to make something pretty, something ethereal? He did so much damage, but I understood why.

Calvary Warsaw- District Ten

It's always the worst when they're young. With the old ones, I can say it was their own fault and they had every chance. The young ones get me. Even worse recently. I felt silly admitting it, but they reminded me of Rose. I had every reason to hate her, but I couldn't imagine her in the Arena. That wasn't a place for anyone.

District Ten

The horses ran slower that year. Or maybe we just imagined it. Losing Falcon just meant we could rest easy, but Historia never hurt anyone. Little girls should be running around riding horses, not lying still in boxes.

* * *

Mahi Arapaima- District Four male

"Hey, grass," I said. After Valerian left, it was just me and the Cornucopia. I had a suspicion that soon the Capitol would either drive me away or smite me, but until then, I was sort of just hanging out. I had tons of supplies, and I wasn't really big on killing kids. Unless Rose and Cloey came back, I was happy to pretty much be lazy.

"I'm not really doing much," I told the grass. "I suppose you're not either. Hey. Rude. If I didn't talk to you, no one would. You should be happy." The grass hadn't really said anything, but sometimes it hit me how silly I sounded talking to things, and I imagined my conversational partners pointing that out.

"Hey, pile of weapons. You bored?" I asked. I picked up a sword and swung it around, not really aiming for anything. "There sure are a lot of you. We only have twenty-four Tributes."

I waved at the sky. "Hey, everyone watching. Sorry I'm boring. You should probably watch Rose and Cloey. They're probably killing someone or something."

I did a funky little dance, swinging my arms and kicking a clump of dirt. _I should probably go do something,_ I thought. There were only about ten of us left. Soon enough I'd have to go or get off the pot. Truth be told, I didn't think I'd get through this. I didn't have the smarts like Cloey, or the skills like Rose. I was a mediocre Career. I'd always known that, and I hadn't minded. It was bad luck that this was a bad year for Four. I wished one of the stronger ones from years before had been there this year. With this crop, they would have won. Heck, even Rain was better than I was. Fourteen years old, and she smashed that Arena. Here I was at my prime, and I was talking to swords and kicking grass.

* * *

Adira Baelyn- District Six female

We were all so worried about water and food, we forgot about the sun. It wasn't so bad for me and Hlenn, but Theo had it rough. She started the Games white, but she was slowly turning red. I didn't want to imagine what her angry-looking, peeling skin felt like.

"I just want to say this is definitely racist," Theo said, caking more mud onto herself and wallowing in the muck by the river.

"Turnabout's fair play," Hlenn said.

"That was like two hundred years ago!" Theo said.

"Maybe it will rain again," I said. Theo grumbled in response.

"You're gonna look _fire_ if you get out," Hlenn said.

"I _feel_ fire now. I'm going to look like _skin cancer_ if I get out," Theo said.

"Do we still get skin cancer?" Hlenn asked, suddenly worried.

"It's the same radiation," I said. "But I'm sure they'll fix that for whoever wins."

"I never knew anyone with skin cancer. Or maybe I just didn't know what it looks like," Hlenn said.

"Maybe they all died too young," Theo said.

"We get lung cancer in Six," I said. So many people didn't care what their factories put out. The air was always smoggy. No one cared about anyone but themselves.

"Oh, no," Theo said, squinting at the sky with watery eyes. "Well, it's good, but also bad. Snatch it before anyone sees it."

I jumped and snagged the parachute out of the sky. The six emblazoned on the side told everyone it was mine, but of course we all shared everything.

"What are they?" Hlenn asked of the translucent square jellies.

" _Protein gel,"_ Theo read off the packaging. " _Maximizes energy transfer and water retention."_

"So it's like super food," I said. I took out the other package. "Well, would you look at that."

"It's the most beautiful thing in the world," Theo said, holding a bottle of sunscreen.

* * *

 **Some Navy guy is filming me on the computer for background footage for a video. I look like I'm busily working but I'm actually writing fanfic ha ha. Some official military video has my HG fanfic.**


	41. Rafiki

Theo Mulroy- District Twelve female

You win some, you lose some. The puddles in the termite hill cluster were thinning away to nothing, so we had to start moving. On the bright side, we had sunscreen, so Adira wouldn't incinerate.

"There's so few people left, we might not run into anyone else, even at a river," Hlenn said.

"I guess it depends on if it's a river or a pond," I said.

"I hope there aren't crocodiles," Adira said.

Even with the sunscreen, we waited until midway through the afternoon to start. There was no sense going out when it was boiling and sweating all our water away. As the sun dipped lower, the air felt almost nice. At least it wasn't humid.

We hit a patch of tall grass, so tall it reached the tops of our heads. It was nice to know the Careers couldn't see us, and that we could probably hear one coming. Even a Career would make a tiny bit of noise in all the vegetation. Maybe Rose might be able to snipe us, but that was just always a danger.

"It almost feels like we might make it," I said to Hlenn. Behind us, I heard Adira's crunching footsteps.

"This sounds morbid, but death was always the default for me," Hlenn said. "I just knew that everyone always dies eventually. I never thought about living."

"When I got Reaped, I could only think about how unfair it was that my family would lose two children. I don't dare hope they might have a happy ending this time," I said.

"I've always been curious about death. Being here is like flirting with someone I know isn't good for me, but I can't stop coming back," Hlenn said.

"You got called weird a lot, didn't you?" I asked.

"Yup," Hlenn said.

"Adira shouldn't lag behind. She'll get picked off by a wolf or something," I said, turning my head to look behind us.

I heard Hlenn follow me as I doubled back to find her, follwing our own trail through the grass.

"I don't even hear her," Hlenn said. "Adira!" she called.

"Oh no," I said softly. I stopped in front of a trampled-down circle of grass. Adira wasn't there. There was only a single smear of blood, trailing away into the edge of the circle, back into undisturbed grass.

* * *

Adira Baelyn- District Six female

There was no warning. I was walking behind Hlenn and Theo, just a single step behind them, when it happened. I'd read about animals using camouflage and stealth in school, but in the pictures, it was always so easy to pick out the snake or the toad. Here, the cat materialized out of nothing. I didn't hear anything, not even when it jumped. I didn't see it until it hit me.

The leopard knocked me down, but even doing that, it made sure I landed quietly. It jaws hit my throat and crushed the air from my throat. I could only silently try to pry it loose. Seconds later I thought to swipe at the grass and make noise, but by then it had already carried me some distance away. It was just about my size, but it carried me like I was no heavier than a kitten.

Hlenn and Theo couldn't help me, and neither could the Capitol. I wasn't sure if the Capitol even would have, and I would never have to find out if I'd only been dreaming all along. The cameras weren't on me. No one even knew I was taken.

* * *

Valerian Mercury- District Two female

It was getting harder to find Tributes. There weren't many of us left. I angrily kicked some rocks when I heard another cannon go off. It it turned out to be Rose, I was going to be _pissed._ I'd been here almost a week and all I had to show for it was a scarred leg.

A branch crackled when I walked under a tree. I threw myself forward, doing a shoulder roll and whirling around in time to see a monkey hit the ground, raising a cloud of dust. It was the size of a dog, and when it opened its mouth and screamed, it bared wicked, fat fangs.

 _That's not what I had in mind._ But it didn't matter. Whether or not I wanted to fight, the monkey sure did. It barreled toward me, the muscles in its arms rippling disconcertingly as it ran surprisingly fast.

"Woah," I said when it hit me hard enough to knock me half onto my butt. Its arms scrabbled across me, pounding me and then grabbing me around in a fearsome hug. The monkey only stopped screaming when it sank its teeth into my right arm, below the thick, blunt teeth bore into me like stakes.

Before I could even attack, I had to defend myself. I pushed back at the monkey's head, but it didn't budge. I quickly changed plans and hooked my thumb into one of its eyes. It shrieked, letting go of my arm. I shoved it off, and its back legs hammered my stomach as it jumped away.

The money charged at me again, and I kicked its face as it came. Its head snapped back, but it kept coming. It snapped at my leg and I danced out of the way. I brought my sword down at its neck in a two-handed blow. It was moving all over, and by the time the sword hit it, it cut into its back instead of cutting its head off. It was still shrieking when it grabbed my foot and yanked me down. It jumped onto me. As it came to rest on my stomach, I brought my sword sideways, meeting it as it landed. The blade slid deep into its side, and it staggered, its face inches from mine. Before it could go further, I shoved the blade sideways with all my strength. It cut the monkey almost in half. It whimpered as it toppled off me. After I struggled to my feet, I stabbed it again, just to make sure.

"That's right," I crowed as I looked at its battered body. "Who's the top of the food chain now?"

* * *

 **10th place: Adira Baelyn- Killed by a leopard**

 **I like reading about maneating animals. One thing I came across in my studies is the testimony that leopards are so quiet, people don't know when their friends are taken, even though they were eating dinner together. As Adira's placing attests, I thought she had a lot to offer. Her love of the Capitol was certainly unique, and her regal nature was unexpected for someone with her background. She faced a lot of disillusionment, and it would have been worse if she'd won. That's not why I didn't pick her, though. Thanks JAJ for someone with a unique perspective, a perspective that would realistically grow rarer with every passing year.**

 **Valerian does not have good luck with wildlife! Baboons are hella strong, so I made this one a Guinea baboon. They weight around 50 pounds, so it wasn't as outlandish.**


	42. Simba's Down There

**Oops wrong chapter!**

* * *

Mahi Arapaima- District Four male

 _All right, all right. I'll leave._

I couldn't stay much longer. The Capitol would already be mad at me for being such a boring Career and staying in one place for so long. I had to go out and at least do some fighting. They told us life wasn't valuable and all that, but truth be told, I didn't want to kill any really little kids. I was glad the young ones were all dead already. Of the ones left, I could bear it. Rose, Valerian and Cloey especially were volunteers, so they were literally asking for it. Hlenn was a goth weirdo, so she probably wouldn't mind dying. The others at least had a decade and a half of life. Not much, but more than some people get.

The Cornucopia was still full of stuff when I left. I knew I should have destroyed it, but I felt bad. It wasn't all that stuff's fault that Rose broke us up early. There were so many cool weapons in there, left to gather rust. I wondered if they'd still be there when the Capitol turned the Arena into a tourist attraction. Maybe the Capitolites could play with the weapons.

I trudged slowly through the grass, not really having a destination in mind. I was happy when it cleared into a mostly barren plain with patches of short grass. I'd had enough ticks in my life to not care for tall grass. The outliers were probably far away, since they knew we liked to stay in the Cornucopia. I'd have to go a while to find them.

A sound started me, but before I was even finished startling, I knew it wasn't something to worry about. It was a hoofbeat, and unless the Capitol engineered another evil horse like the ghastly thing from the Career Games, ungulates were generally timid. I looked in the direction of the sound and saw a wildebeest burst out of the grass behind me.

 _Wow, he's on the move,_ I thought as I stepped out of its path. Timid or not, it was still a huge animal. Then another followed after it, and I remembered that wildebeests traveled in herds.

 _Oh… that one's just the fastest,_ I thought. Then I heard the other hooves, and then I saw the wildebeests. But I only saw them for an instant, since I turned tail and ran. Maybe they were running from something, and whatever could mess up a wildebeest could mess up me. Or maybe they were just running, in which case they could still squish me.

"Shoot shoot _shoot SHOOT!"_ I yelled as a teeming mass of wildebeest seethed from the grass like a living river. I was running diagonally, trying to get out of their path, but there was just nowhere to go.

When the first one hit me, it was like getting hit by a truck. I went flying forward and smashed onto my face in the dirt, smashing my nose and knocking the wind out of me. Another one stepped on my shoulder as it passed. Each time I tried to get up, another one knocked me down. Eventually I stopped trying to get up.

* * *

Hlenn Rambutan- District Eleven female

She was gone. Just gone.

We were close enough to Adira to talk to her. We heard her footsteps. She was within sight, and she disappeared. We didn't even know until she was dead.

The cannon hadn't come for another forty seconds. That was how long it took to asphyxiate, I guess. Because that was what must have happened. Only a cat attacked so quietly. Lions hunted in packs, and cheetahs didn't usually go after things as large as us. It had to have been a leopard.

I wondered if Adira saw it. She must have, of course. But what was it like? Were its golden eyes empty, or focused, or eager? What was it like to feel the seconds ticking away and bringing your life with them? To know your allies were feet away and unable to help you. She died, and the only witness was her killer.

Theo and I walked at an angle to each other after that. I didn't think it would make a difference. This was the savannah. Life was sustained by death. The plains teemed with life, and every life maintained itself by the death of others. Death was the normal here. It waited under every rock and behind every tree, looking to ensnare you and make you like you were before and would be again. Everyone spent more time dead than alive. Life was a brief aberration.

I knew Adira would be in the sky that night. The other face was Mahi, and I wasn't surprised. Only the strongest were left. The only surprise was that I was still here.

The stars were beautiful. Theo and I didn't talk as we looked at them. I didn't know how to share my thoughts- they were slippery, otherworldly things, like faintly seen ghosts. Theo didn't need to talk. She already knew death. My father had died, but he was old. Theo knew about stolen lives, cut short before their time.

But we both knew the stars. Far away, they were larger than planets, and brighter than anything we ever knew. We only saw a sliver of them. They were faint things, not bright enough to illuminate the darkness. A slender cloud could blot them out, and so could the fake lights of a city. One of them warmed our world and gave us light, yet we never thought of it. Bright, faint, invisible, warm, everything, nothing. They were like souls.

* * *

Cloey Daleigh- District Seven female

Since we'd met, Rose had barely said two words to me. We were allies. You were supposed to know your teammates. The nature of a team was that it was better than its parts, each knowing the others and augmenting them. Rose was one no one's team but her own.

I'd been watching her throughout the Games. Not in some tactical manner to gain an advantage. She would have seen through it and distanced herself even more. I only wanted to know what made her what she was. She was cold and remote, even when she was killing. Some Careers relished it and others acknowledged the rush, but Rose treated it like nothing but a way of life. I'd seen her stick a blade into a former ally's back and clean the glittering blade on the corpse.

She smiled once, back in the Capitol. She and Valerian were sparring, and she knocked Valerian's weapon away. Valerian only laughed, and said she was glad she had someone like Rose to fight against. Rose smiled, quickly and fleetingly. She was always beautiful, and the light, fragile smile brought a flutter to my heart. I wished she could always feel like that.

"Were you always like this?" I asked suddenly. Rose looked up from her soup in surprise, and I saw she knew exactly what I meant.

"I used to be friendly," she said. Her face betrayed nothing, but her voice had a whisper of wistfulness.

"What happened?" I asked, expecting her to refuse to answer.

"I went into the world for the first time. The world rejected me. All together, they let me know I would never be welcome," Rose said flatly. I'd been bullied on occasion, just like everyone else, but nothing like that. I'd only been bullied enough to know what she was talking about, and it saddened me.

"Seems like you're pretty over it," I said, trying to make sure she saved face.

"They're not worth pain," Rose said.

There was a moment of silence. Then, I spoke up. "I didn't think you'd tell me."

"Only one of us will get out of here alive."

* * *

 **9th place: Mahi Arapaima- trampled by wildebeests**

 **You probably noticed Mahi kind of got overlooked. I wrote myself into a corner having only two males left so early. At that point I had to keep them for equality. Since Mahi wasn't really a killer, he ended up kicking sand for a few days. Then, when he finally did what he thought the Capitol wanted, they sent wildebeests after him. They had to wait for him to move, or he would have climbed on the Cornucopia out of their way. Mahi was a quick adjustment from my sister, who had another character in mind. That one will appear eventually, I suppose. Anyway, thanks sis for Mahi, who definitely was a Tribute.**


	43. Help Me

**Valerian was sponsored some healing/endurance pills.**

* * *

MAHI ARAPAIMA- Valerian Mercury

 _Aw, I liked Mahi. Like, I knew he had to die, but still, that's too bad._

Shane Donegal- District Four mentor

I was conflicted about the Games. I hated seeing volunteers, but those same volunteers were the ones most likely to win and let me mentor less. Mahi wouldn't have liked it either, so he dodged a bullet. He was one of the lucky ones.

District Four

It was a… less than stellar showing this year. You win some, you lose some, and you get your butt kicked in some. We were ready to move on and put this year behind us.

ADIRA BAELYN- Theo Mulroy

Did she die thinking the Capitol was going to save her? What a strange girl. Hlenn and I talked so much more than we did with her. We didn't mean to be rude. She just didn't seem to want to talk to us. She was very aloof. I wished I had known her better.

District Six

Life went on as usual in the orphanage. Death wasn't common, but bad luck was. Kippton's friends and family mourned and tried to find something meaningful in it, but all they found was a wasted life.

* * *

Joella Krame- District Nine female

Gazelle were smaller than I imagined. I'd been thinking of them like skinny horses, but they were more like slender deer, and deer were already slender. They were very pretty, though. They had lovely golden fur and sleek horns. They were just grazing at the moment, but I could imagine how fast they could run. When we first saw them, we were afraid they were mutts, but it seemed like they actually were just gazelles.

"That would make a really pretty dress pattern," Isabelline mused. "The horns could be the sleeves."

"I can see it," I said, nodding appreciatively.

One of the gazelle looked up. It turned around and started bounding away. It didn't seem to be going at it stop speed, and it jumped more than ran. Each hop looked lighter than air. I felt like there should be a "boing" sound effect every time it hit the ground. Some of the others noticed it was moving and followed.

"That's probably not good," Isabelline said. The gazelle seemed lightly perturbed more than scared, but all the same, we got up.

"No, it's sure not!"

I wasn't a Career, but everyone knew Valerian's voice. She slid out of the grass behind us, a sword in her hand and a bandage around her shoulder. I hadn't heard her coming, and I realized our conversation and the gazelles had covered it up. She snaked out her bandaged arm and caught me before I could run.

"Two of you? Maybe together you can give me a good time," Valerian crowed.

 _Maybe together we can fight her,_ I thought. Then Valerian looked over my shoulder and knitted her eyebrows.

"Hey! Where you going?" she asked. I turned my head and saw Isabelline sprinting into the distance.

 _She left me,_ I thought. Shock and fear left no room for blame. I only knew I was going to die.

"You big coward!" Valerian shouted. She turned back to me, and as she did, I punched her in the nose. Her head snapped back and she looked at me with frank surprise.

"Ow!" she said. I bit her arm, and she let go, shoving me back. As I got up, she stabbed me under the ribs, jerking the blade sideways on the way out for a quick kill.

 _Just like that,_ I thought. Herbs and folk tales couldn't cure this. Melinda would have to find a new apprentice. But she was a better doctor than my brothers ever would be, and so was I. I healed a lot of people before I went. They'd go on and help others, all because of me.

* * *

Isabelline Thayer- District Eight female

Life doesn't always give you a way out. You can't save everyone, and it's senseless to kill yourself trying. I'd stitch someone together after a machine tore them up, but I wouldn't go in there after them. If you give your life to help someone, you just get two dead people. I'd seen it before. It only left two broken families.

It was probably meaningless anyway. I couldn't outrun Valerian. She trained years for this, and by the manic look in her eye, she'd gotten some stimulants from a sponsor. I just had to try. That was the human condition.

Valerian caught me before Joella's cannon went off. She shoved me from behind, making me overbalance and fall on my face. She stabbed me in the back before I could roll over. The blade was so thin it was like a paper cut. I hardly felt it snake through me.

"Big baby. You didn't even try. Now it's too easy," Valerian pouted. "I swear, if I don't get to fight Rose, I'm volunteering again next year."

When I abandoned Joella, I felt guilty that I didn't feel more guilty. I'd always been that way. I was cold, lacking passion even as I sewed people back together. I did it because it was right, not because I cared. I'd never really felt empathy for others, and I now saw I wasn't the only one. Valerian treated me the same way.

* * *

 **8th place: Joella Krame- stabbed by Valerian**

 **I wish Joella could have done more. I really liked her herbalist background, but there wasn't much chance to use it here. She was a really cool character, and she would have done better in a non-Arena HG story. I thought about having her win, but I ended up going with someone else. Her form said she'd go down fighting, so Valerian now has a very bloody nose. Joella is one of the more unique Tributes I've gotten, and I look forward to Resurrection stories in the future. Thanks Tracelyn for another good Tribute.**

 **7th place: Isabelline Thayer- stabbed by Valerian**

 **Isabelline was practical. She wasn't sentimental, and she knew that if she'd stayed and fought, they both would have died. This was her only chance at survival, and the Games don't leave room for friendship. Looking back, it would have been interesting if she and Joella had ended up as the final two. Instead this happened. Thanks CarlpoppaLOL for someone who treated the Games with as much weight as they deserved.**


	44. Queensbury Rules

Mark Lafayette- District Five male

Life was good with the crazy bird. He brought back frogs and littler birds and things. Usually I left them, so that he wouldn't get discouraged and leave, but sometimes I ate them. I didn't need much to stay alive. I was just hanging out in a tree, after all. The leaves gave me water and the crazy bird brought food. Then I made the amazing discovery that there was actually water inside the tree trunk. As long as the Games didn't last longer than a month, I could squeak by. I'd just be really skinny.

It was only because I was so far up in the tree that I saw Theo and Hlenn. They were making their way across a bare patch of land, probably chatting. Even in the tree I wouldn't have been able to see Valerian stalking them, except for the light reflecting off her sword.

 _Oh crap,_ I thought. I knew it was stupid, but there was just something unacceptable about seeing two girls about to die and not helping them. Two boys would also have been unacceptable, but Theo and Hlenn happened to be girls. I was far enough away to not be able to hear their conversation, but I had a pretty big mouth.

"Hey! Hey, Valerian! Why don't you come meet a real man?" I yelled. Hlenn and Theo looked over at the noise, heard what I was saying, and bolted. Valerian rose from her hiding spot and glared at me.

"I don't want a real man! I'm a _lesbian!"_ she yelled, but she still started running my way.

I hopped out of the tree, not wanting the branches to restrict my movement. I could have run for it, but she was coming at me pretty quick. Anyway, I could take care of myself. She already had a bad shoulder and a crooked nose.

"I'm gonna be really mad if you suck," Valerian said, holding her sword across her body.

"Hey, I don't have a sword," I said.

"What, you think this is supposed to be fair?" Valerian asked.

"Yeah, since you're always talking about real fights," I said.

"Yeah, you're right. I was just commenting on what most people would say," Valerian said, sheathing her sword and putting up her fists.

I got in the first blow when I feinted a hook and went with an uppercut. Valerian stumbled back and spat blood.

"Ow, I bit my tongue," she said. It didn't stop her from smashing my nose with a flat-handed strike.

As I fell backward, I grabbed her and dragged her with me. We rolled on the ground, stirring up dust and grass. She headbutted me, and I punched her in the stomach. As she curled up, she brought her knee up into my gut. Then we were both panting for breath. She recovered quickly, rolling under me with a deft movement and twining my arm between hers. She flopped sideways, bringing my arm against hers like a fulcrum and snapping it. As I screamed, I punched her in the eye with my other hand. I followed it up with another punch to the nose.

When Valerian sat up, her face was covered in red and purple marks, but I probably didn't look much better. She grabbed my broken arm and twisted it, and I almost fainted. I craned my neck up and bit her neck. She tore herself away and I shoved my shoulder into her chest, knocking her off me. I grabbed her knee rolled over, using her idea against her. Her knee popped out of place, and she hurriedly retreated, breaking my grasp. She hobbled to her feet and kicked me in the head as I followed, bracing herself against the tree to support her weight. She followed it up with half a dozen more kicks.

 _To be fair, that's not allowed in boxing,_ I thought as she kicked my head in. In hindsight, I should have kept my mouth shut and let Theo and Hlenn take care of themselves.

* * *

Rose O'Durren- District One female

Cloey thought we might be friends. She knew we weren't, but thought we might be. If I'd met her years ago, it might have happened. It was too late. Friends required vulnerability, and I learned my lesson about that a long time ago.

The cannon brought us down to five. I had to assume one was Valerian. Mark was the strongest of the remainder. The fifth was Hlenn or Theo, it didn't matter which. My priorities were clear. It had crossed my mind that Cloey was a threat, but I wasn't going to make that mistake again. First we would kill Valerian, and then the alliance would be over.

Cloey knew I would kill her. I wondered what made someone stay with an ally they knew was just biding time. When I started training, I didn't want to have allies. My instructors had to convince me it was the better thing to do. But everything I'd done here, I did on my own. I never needed anyone's help.

A rhino wandered by, and Cloey and I hid nervously. Even Careers didn't want to mess with that. It was even more massive than I'd imagined. You could shoot that thing and it wouldn't notice. It was a living tank.

"It's too bad this isn't real," Cloey said. "They made it all."

"It'll be a park when this is over," I said. Maybe I couldn't be happy, but Cloey could.

"I hope they let the animals stay," Cloey said.

I wondered if I would come back to this place. Fighting in the Games wasn't the goal for me. I didn't care about the process, only the reward. Long ago I learned I wouldn't be loved. My parents had me as a trophy, and my District only cared about what I could offer. That wasn't some tragedy. Most people didn't have anyone who really loved them. But if I couldn't be loved, I could be respected. When I won, no one would call me names and laugh at me and cast me out. No one would dare. Let me never be loved, but let me be respected, and let me be feared.

* * *

 **6th place: Mark Lafayette- Beaten to death by Valerian**

 **Top five isn't ideal for all women, but it's not as bad as it could have been. Mark was a strong player, but he also had the hilarious flaw of never shutting up. I knew from the start that would do him in. But it was against Valerian, so fair enough. Jayman always sends good bros, and Mark was another one.**

 **Yeah I think everyone left is a lesbian. What are the odds?**


	45. Lingchi

MARK LAFAYETTE- Rose O'Durren

Then it was one of the weaker ones. That made things easier for me.

Sky Levings

I did things I wasn't proud of in the Games. I saw Dina going down that path, but it was her choice to make. Sometimes it's the only way to win, and sometimes it doesn't matter.

Erwin Jackson

Mark did it his way. Some Tributes know they can't win, and they burn as bright as they can before they get snuffed out. I was glad he wasn't stuck with my life.

District Five

Without Mark, the other debate team actually had a chance. That was the only good thing to come of it. Dina's family erected a cairn over her grave, collecting stones from everyone in the District. People come together over dead children.

ISABELLINE THAYER- Theo Mulroy

We were the only alliance left other than the Careers. They'd be coming for us next.

Tillo Peters

Isabelline was pragmatic, just like me. She did what she needed to stay alive, but the Games were never in her hands. Max was outgoing and charismatic, entirely _un_ like me. Two opposites, and neither lived. There's no winning with the Games.

District Eight

The next time someone got caught in the machinery, she nearly bled out before someone desperately stepped in. Max never became a politician, and we were left wondering what might have been. Maybe Panem would be a country worth serving.

JOELLA KRAME- Hlenn Rambutan

She was the witch's apprentice. I'd wanted to ask her what stories she had, but I never had the time.

Nassor Doyle

Dylan was a foregone conclusion. Joella was a contender. In another Arena, it would have been all hers. So often, it's just luck.

District Nine

The Buddard's shoe store had a boom from people buying pity shoes. It didn't bring him back, but it lifted the family from poverty.

Melinda planted mistletoe on Joella's grave. Anyone who asked was told the plant symbolized a sacred place, where violence could never occur. We wished it was planted everywhere.

* * *

Cloey Daleigh- District Seven female

It was three days before Valerian found us. First, she found me.

I was purifying water when I heard her. She was making no attempt to be stealthy. As always, she wanted a real fight. She stood before me proudly, wielding her sword.

 _What are the odds?_ The few minutes Rose and I were separated, that was when she showed up. Not that it would have stopped her if we were both here. I called once for my ally, unsure if she would hear me from her perch on a nearby hill keeping watch, and then it was all I could do to keep fighting.

My sword was thicker and much stronger than Valerian's. Hers was more nimble, but if they clashed, hers would shatter and mine only be dulled. We fought accordingly, me blocking her strikes and making her jerk back suddenly to avoid me. She shoved her sword's handle up, hitting me in the throat. I jerked my head back, barely avoiding her slash at my throat. I swung my sword at her diagonally, covering myself while attacking her. She should have jumped back, but instead she balanced on one foot and kicked me between my legs. Confusion swept through me as I stumbled back. Trained warriors didn't kick in a close fight. It made you off-balance.

Valerian doubled down, charging at me with her sword up. That left her front open- it was an amateur mistake. I stuck my sword at her, like any idiot would do. She noticed it just in time and ducked under, half-sliding toward me on her butt. She had an opening on my lower stomach and I covered in, but instead she went for a shallow slash on my leg.

 _What are you doing?_ I thought. We were taught how to fight logically. How could I fight someone that made no sense? I swung my sword into her side as she got up. She twisted around, minimizing the blow but taking a deep cut across her hip. She flicked her sword down, cutting the edge of my foot and severing my littlest toe. I shrugged off the wound and hit back.

* * *

Valerian Mercury- District Two female

The instructors told me a bunch of rules and stuff for fighting. I was more of an improvisational type. I went as the sword moved me. Maybe I had a cut in my side, but Cloey didn't look so hot either. She was good, though. They trained Peacekeepers right, I guess.

My sword was lighter and faster, so it took me by surprise when Cloey zipped past my defenses and stabbed me in the thigh. I was lucky the tip hit bone straight on, or she might have cut my leg off. I swiped my sword by her arm, scoring a light line down her hand. I'd wanted more, but she was too quick. She looked very pretty all covered in blood from the thin cuts. I wondered if it made the sword harder to hold.

Cloey struck at my sword, trying to shatter it. I jerked it sideways, and she took the opportunity to take a chunk of meat from my shoulder and cheek. I gripped the handle of my sword tightly and bashed it into her blade like a club. The vibrations shook her hand, rattling her. As she was still in shock from the bizarre attack, I arced my sword up from her stomach to her nose. She leaned back in time to keep her guts in, but the slash oozed blood all down her front.

Bloodlust bubbled up in me as I saw I was fighting just like Pray. I was ripping the life from her ferally, with slashes like nothing else but thin, razorlike claws. I laughed wildly as I advanced on Cloey, swinging crazily and opening more rivers of blood.

* * *

Cloey Daleigh- District Seven

I staggered back at the frenzied onslaught. Through the blood and pain, Valerian didn't even look human anymore. The lustful light in her eyes and the red-spattered grin were a demon's, not a person's.

 _What makes someone like that? She's chaos. She's madness. This is everything a Peacekeeper battles. Someone else will have to take that over, because it's swallowing me up…_

"Valerian!"

Rose's voice was commanding, but not impassioned. I looked over from my position on my knees, my sword raised protectively across my head, and saw her. She'd walked right up to us, since we were pretty distracted. As my arm failed, she grabbed my drooping sword. Valerian stepped back as she did, respecting this new opponent. As I lay dying, I watched one final battle.

* * *

 **Ha ha cliffhanger. I wrote the next chapter so I can release it tomorrow.**


	46. Duel of the Fates

Rose O'Durren- District One female

I couldn't have asked for better conditions. Valerian was worn down, bleeding from half a dozen wounds. Her nose was crooked and one eye was slightly unfocused. That more than made up for the disadvantage of fighting at close range.

Silently, I waited for Valerian to make the first move. She knew, even in her bloodlust, that she was bleeding heavily. She had to kill me quickly, before she passed out. Memories floated up of my Academy days. All students attained at least a yellow belt in martial arts. It had never been my favorite, but I remembered the basics. I'd immediately been drawn to mantis style, but in this case, crane was the correct choice.

When Valerian came at me, I stepped back. We sidestepped Cloey, who valiantly grabbed at Valerian's leg and made her stumble. Valerian recovered quickly, before I could press the advantage. She swung wildly at me, and I stepped back again. We circled, her attacking and me retreating. With unexpected vitality, she darted forward and slashed the side of my face. I shoved her arm aside with my sword arm and aimed a punch at her kidneys when the force twisted her body. She exhaled sharply, and when she sucked in breath, it was shrill.

* * *

Valerian Mercury- District Two female

At last, someone made it hard. Rose was playing it cool, but I was happy to balance her out. I shifted my weight and drove my heel down into her foot. She yelped and tried to pull back, but I had her pinned. While she was trapped, I swung my sword into her side. She awkwardly twisted, whirling us both around like a waltzing couple.

* * *

Rose O'Durren- District One female

Valerian was not to be underestimated, no matter how she looked. She was a wounded tiger, even more dangerous for being covered in her own blood. At that point I would have retreated to let her bleed out, but I was too close to break away. She fought aggressively, following when I tried to cede her ground.

 _And yet if I die, she'll live._ The payoff for winning a two-against-one fight with Careers would net her sponsors enough to send cutting-edge medical care. Even though I wanted to go, I had to end it. I had to risk my own life to take her down while I could.

* * *

Valerian Mercury- District Two female

This was what I lived for. To see blood spraying from my enemy, to hear their cries of pain, to stand over their warm corpse. Like my heroine Pray, I would earn it. No hiding in a lifeboat or blowing up unsuspecting enemies from a distance. Let me win by ripping victory from Rose's hands like Pray ripped off Shogo's ear.

I gloried even in the pain. Every cut showed me I was alive, and the blood on my hands was proof I was fighting. When I was an old woman, these would be my glory days.

* * *

Rose O'Durren- District One female

Valerian charged at me, nearly toppling under the weight of her injuries. I struck her sword with mine, and it only stayed intact because she anticipated and rode the blow to the ground. Still forcing it down with my sword, I lifted a foot and stomped it down onto her weapon. The blade bent in a curve and snapped, like the fragile razor it was.

Valerian looked at her snapped weapon and raised the remaining half, ready to come at me. As I cocked my arm back at the elbow, a cannon sounded. As Valerian dangled, held up by Cloey's sword through her chest, another followed.

* * *

 **Short chapter, since it's just the rest of the fight.**

 **5th place: Cloey Daleigh- wounds caused by Valerian**

 **Cloey was a contender from the start and could have been a Victor. I liked the Peacekeeper stuff and how it gave her similar but distinct skills to a Career. It also made her deeply a team player, which relates to my experiences in the military. Her trustworthiness let Rose stay and not betray her, and what got her in the end is that military training is regimented and pure insanity is hard to predict. Cloey was a TER Tribute through and through, and i was glad to have another deeply fleshed-out competitor.**

 **4th place: Valerian Mercury- Stabbed by Rose**

 **Valerian got bitten early on and a lot of strong competitors died before she was up. I felt bad she didn't have anyone to fight, so I threw animals at her and had her get a lot of action near the end. She loved battle and never shied away, even when she was falling apart. Kind of like Batman fighting all the villains Bane let out, she got worn down and was simply exhausted by the time she fought Rose. But she still got in a lot of hits, and she died as she lived. Thanks Tinks for another stone cold killer, except Valerian was sort of the opposite of stony or cold.**

 **Ooh, only three left! I have an ending in mind but it still could change.**


	47. NANTS INGONYAMA BAGITHI BABA!

**Foul language alert! This time, there were just no other words. Anyway that's way worse than all the child murders.**

* * *

VALERIAN MERCURY- Theo Mulroy

When they finally met up, we were hoping Valerian would win. She only wanted to fight the people who made it fun. She would have gone off to fight lions or buffalo. Rose was looking for us.

Pray Jager- District Two mentor

 _I told that dumbass to fight smart._

That dumbass didn't know how to fight smart. At least she fought hard. She _died_ hard. If there was ever a time to say 'it was the way she would have wanted to go'... It would have been better if she'd lived, but a Career's life centers around death.

District Two

We were evenly split. Half of us had Career pride and didn't want an outlier to win. The other half were too focused on the Career rivalry and didn't want a One to outdo us. But we all agreed that Four sucked.

CLOEY DALEIGH- Rose O'Durren

We lived in the same country, but we were worlds apart. Cloey lived by principles and a worldview I didn't overlap with at all. It was boggling how different we were. I didn't feel weak admitting I missed her. A Career still knew the value of life. It was a serious thing to hold it in your hands. It was our duty to make our kills matter- our duty to us and the fallen.

Hades Rodriguez- District Seven mentor

Cloey was so much better than me in pretty much every way. I never lost sight of how lucky I was to win. I was such a weird case. The Games were the best thing that ever happened to me. I hid out, made a friend, and got lifelong riches and a TV show. Cloey got shafted.

District Seven

The Academy made the wrong decision. They wasted the best cadet they could have had. How many people out there would she have saved? We wondered who it was that was going to die because Peacekeeper Daleigh wasn't there.

* * *

Hlenn Rambutan- District Eleven female

Three people left should have been a tiny ray of hope. It scared me to death. The more people there were, the bigger chance the next death would be someone other than me. I knew it didn't work that way, but statistics never was my strongest suit. More people died, and I only saw the veil between this world and the next getting thinner and thinner. There was no way Rose would be the next to go. Either I was about to die, or my friend was. One of us would be going on alone soon.

If there was ever a haunted place, it would be the Arena. If there were ghosts, would they haunt their graves, or the places they died? I'd heard stories of strange things happening in former Arenas. And of course every District had a children's cemetery. Whether or not we wanted it, the Capitol forced us to set a space aside. They didn't want us to forget, not that we ever could. I'd been to the one in Eleven a lot. It was morbid, but so was I. I wanted to see that reality- the proof that kids like me died, too. The gravestones were so close together, for all the tiny coffins. I wanted to see it for me, but I also wanted to go for anyone whose family might have grown old and died. No one should be forgotten.

At night, the Arena was chilly. Our clothes were to keep us cool, so they didn't do much in the crisp air. The Arena, which seemed so bright and full in the day, was as empty as the tomb it was. There were no crickets, only strange, soft insects from some far away land. I didn't hear the owls calling like at home, or see raccoons skittering off into the trees as I came.

I stayed close by, not that it would have made a difference if Rose came. I only hoped Theo stayed asleep through it and didn't get found. She wouldn't even know what happened until the cannon sounded. It was immature, but I hoped she never found out I got sniped while I was going to the bathroom.

On my way back, something set me off. I stiffened, looking around and wondering if Rose was already sighted in on me. But nothing happened, and I looked down, sighing in relief. Then I realized it wasn't Rose I had to worry about.

The grass under my foot was short and flat. I could see the bent blades. I could also see the slender snake whose coils I'd stepped directly inside. In the dim light I could barely tell, but it was green. I had no idea what kind it was, but there was no way it wasn't poisonous. Not if it was something the Gamemakers made.

 _It's beautiful._ I should have been scared, but it was too mesmerizing. Snakes have always been linked with spells and hypnosis. Maybe it was because we knew how close they were to death. The snake was motionless- it looked like it was sleeping, except its eyes were open. It was a little ourobouros, an infinity sign of poison and eternity. In an instant, it could make me part of that.

It was hard to tell how long I stood frozen in the snake's thrall. It wasn't moving, but I couldn't know if that would change. If I moved, would I wake it? It was dark. Snakes were slow in the cold. Even so, it was fast enough to bite me before I could escape.

 _Time to face eternity._ I pointed my toe as I lifted my foot. The grass sprang up under me, and I pleaded with it to be quiet. The snake was still as my foot hovered, inching away from death. I set it behind me, taking a step back from the snake. My heart fluttered as I backed further away, quietly circling around the snake. I looked behind me as I went, watching the beautiful thing fade into the grass.

When I got back to camp, it chilled me the think of how close the snake was to us. We were mere moments from death. But then, we'd been that way since the Games began.

* * *

Rose O'Durren- District One female

Cloey would always be a part of me. She shaped who I would become, as much as but opposite to the bullies all those years. The best way a Career could honor anyone was to win. For myself first, but also for her.

I found the river and walked along its shores. Water was life. Eventually, it would lead me to Hlenn and Theo. I was using life to lead me to death. She probably would have thought that was poetic.

The river widened, its banks turning indistinguishable under sloppy mud. I had to watch my step, since the dirt under me sometimes punched through the knee-high muck. My shoes got wet, which I'd always hated. There was nothing worse than squelchy shoes and wet socks.

When a lump of mud started moving, I jumped back so fast I fell flat on my back in the mud. I was up before the lump took shape, revealing something I definitely wasn't messing with.

People like hippos. They talk about how fat and cute they are. They're not cute. Before me stood a two-ton mass of muscle and weight. It surged up, opening jaws big enough to swallow me whole. I knew hippos were fat, but I didn't know they were so _mean._ That thing came at me like a freight train, tusks gleaming and impossibly massive body moving like lightning. I didn't even look where I was running, and my path took me across the shallow, mucky river. I splashed into the water so quickly that the sudden change in depth tripped me and I face-planted into the river. Water rushed into my ears and nose as I frenziedly lifted myself and flopped onto the other side.

 _Holy_ shit _it's coming after me._ Hippos can _move._ If that thing had wanted to run me down, I'd have been a flat Career. I was running like a deer, and it was like I was standing still. I was bracing myself to get stomped when it veered suddenly, missing me and circling back into the water. It waded into the muck and submerged itself, flicking an ear lazily.

From what I hoped was a safe distance, I stared at the hippo in shock, my heart still racing. It could have killed me effortlessly. It was only its own whims that spared me. That must be what I look like to the outliers. It almost gave me sympathy.

* * *

 **Some more character moments so whoever wins will be more developed!**

 **PS that was a boomslang so it definitely WAS venomous. Not poisonous like Hlenn said, but she's not a zoologist.**


	48. Zira

**You all wanted more introspection. I've actually been holding myself back because I thought I did too much, but I can definitely do more!**

* * *

Theo Mulroy- District Twelve female

It felt like we were running in neutral. Hlenn and I couldn't do much. We had enough food and water, and moving around just wasted energy. Rose was the only one moving now. Everything was drawing toward the moment when she found us, and we'd have a Victor. Probably her, but maybe together we might be able to do something. Neither of us wanted to talk about the fact that if we somehow killed Rose, all that would be left was to kill each other.

"What do you think it's like being a Career?" Hlenn asked.

"I think they're horrible people," I said. I knew nothing was black and white, but all I would ever see when I thought of them was one of the boys from Two strangling her as the bled, her fingers smearing marks across his hands.

"Oh, I guess…" Hlenn said, turning her head and peeking at me from the corner of her eye.

"His name was Catullus. One of his allies killed him, and I'm not sorry," I said.

"He's where he should be now," Hlenn said.

"I hope he's not in Hell. I hope he just _isn't,_ " I said. Part of me didn't want to wish pain on anyone, and part of me wanted the only thing that was worse.

Hlenn Rambutan- District Eleven female

I'd never seen Theo like that. She'd been sad before, but there had always been a little light in her. This was nothing but darkness, even darker than I'd ever been.

"I think they're sad," I said. Theo wrinkled her lip, so I went on hurriedly. "Not like they're the victims or we should pity them. They chose this, even if it's normal there. I just still think they're sad. They either know it's wrong or they don't. The ones who know can't lie to themselves, and the ones who don't are so warped they can't really know what happiness is, since happiness is a good thing."

"What makes people like that?" Theo asked, but she wasn't asking me in particular.

"I don't think it's nature or nurture. It takes both. You have to have the spark in you, and something has to light it up. Once you're burning on the inside, I don't think there's any way to put it out," I said. It scared me, a lot more than something simple like death. Death was something natural, part of what made us human. What happened to a Career turned them into something different, something parallel to humans. And if they weren't human, what were they?

* * *

Theo Mulroy- District Twelve

"I wish they weren't sad, but I also wish they weren't happy. The world would be better if they had never been born. For the ones that know, I wonder if that's the saddest part. They know we'd be better off if they never existed," I said.

Hlenn looked like she'd reached the limit on morbidity. She loved creepy stuff like this, but we'd crossed a line somewhere. This was wading into spiritual water, talking about souls and existence. This was the stuff people thought about during the witching hour when they couldn't sleep.

"There didn't used to be Careers," I said. "They weren't here until a few Games in. But they weren't really the first, were they? It was the one who made the Games. The one who made them was the first Career."

The Capitol went back and forth on Joseph Tungsten. Some years he was Panem's first hero, the one who brought us together and united the country. He wasn't as popular as Snow, but there were statues in District capitols and his posters in some schools. Other years he was a cipher, just one name among many. But he was the one who started this. He was never even a good politician. He was a soldier in the Dark Days. No one had even heard of him before them. He materialized from the war like he was born from it, and he carried it on after the treaty when he transitioned to politics. He got the presidency by the support of the military, which he'd already begun changing into Peacekeepers loyal to the president and not the country. The first thing he did was propose the Games.

All the evil and bloodlust in our country, all traced back to one man. I could still picture the face on the poster. He was a dusky man with shining dark hair and brown eyes. He was never smiling in the pictures. He was glaring at you, scrutinizing you for sin. It would have been worse if he was smiling, because I would know he was smiling at the Games. We'd already established the Careers as something parallel. Religion wasn't allowed in Panem, but it wouldn't take much convincing for me to think he wasn't human at all.

* * *

Hlenn Rambutan- District Eleven female

It didn't worry me when I wondered if we were talking about things we shouldn't. We were already dead women walking unless there was a miracle. I'd seen things that defied chance, both good and bad, but they were few and far between, as far as the rising cicadas. If we were going to die, we had been like that before we talked about the Capitol.

This was why the Capitol loved Careers. Panem was built on vengeance and fear, just what the Careers stood for. When we were cowed before the child killers, we bore what the Capitol did, because the threat was more removed.

 _Child killers._

That was true both ways, wasn't it? They killed children, and they were children who killed. Nobody won. Not the people who died, and not the ones broken enough to kill them. Each year just triggered another. They finally did it. They made perpetual motion.

* * *

Theo Mulroy- District Twelve female

Somewhere out there, a monster was moving. I pitied it because it wasn't human, and I pitied it more because it used to be. Rose was to blame for choosing this path, and everyone around her was to blame for showing her it was an option. All the stories whispered around bedtime, the kind Hlenn thrived on, were fantastical retelling of things that really were. The stories were meant to warn us to stay safe, away from things that had no light. In real life, it wasn't as easy as not talking to wolves or staying on the path.

Did Rose think _we_ weren't human? To her, maybe the essence of humanity was strength, or maybe it was something entirely different, a logic as alien to us as her actions.

 _What a beautiful name for a beast._ And what a lovely face. Even her arrows, all tapering lines and whispering feathers. They brought death so quietly, with such a pinprick of pain I scarcely felt it.

Hlenn's reaction was more violent than mine. She leaped up, staring horrorstruck at the arrow in my throat. For an instant her expression flitted to curiosity, and helpless sympathy as she turned to run. I was left with Rose and the void she spread. It was evident in the dark stain down my front, and then in the blackness that blotted out the light around me. Where I was going was lighter than where I was. Erin was there, and all the others they killed. Rose and her kind had no place here. They cut themselves off from eternity, and we pitied them.

* * *

 **3rd place: Theo Mulroy- shot by Rose**

 **Everyone seemed to know she was next. Guess I'm transparent. I thought about changing it, but this was just the best way, which was probably why most of you knew it. Even with Haymitch, Theo was a possible Victor until more than halfway in. I just thought maybe this time I'd actually have a happy ending. BUT NOPE. Theo started with so much trauma, but she powered through like a champ. It took a trained Career to kill her, and she was hopeful even then. Thanks aceswims for Theo, and sorry she got third. That always sucks.**

 **I've always been curious about who started the Games. I tried to match continuity, but there wasn't much to go on. Since I'm not creative, Tungsten looks a lot like Stalin. Both names are references, for any history buffs out there. I didn't know if Capitol names were a thing yet, so I went with something that implies maybe he was the one to start it off.**


	49. Baobab

THEODOSIA MULROY- Hlenn Rambutan

 _Her name was Theo!_

Theo and I had known this would come. Secretly, I always thought it would be me next. I'd been so lucky to get this far, and it didn't seem like I could keep getting lucky. The same went for her, though, and she was the one whose card came up first. She knew everything about death now, and I still only lived on the edge. That wouldn't last long.

* * *

Rose O'Durren- District One female

The freeze-dried chili was tasteless. The food had always been less than impressive, but now I couldn't even taste the insipid red peppers. The artificial preservatives were giving me a headache, or maybe I just needed to drink more. You could never be fully hydrated here. I drank all day, forcing water down, and I never felt healthy. This place was wearing me down. Humans weren't meant to stay out here on the open plain eating cat food. This was exactly why we invented houses and ovens.

Hlenn must have felt even worse. She was probably at the end of her rope, alone and in the elements. When I found her, it would be easy. I had to keep up my guard and not let her catch me by surprise, but it was barely a concern.

Soon I would be the Victor. It was everything I'd trained for. I should have been excited or happy. I felt the same as I'd felt for years: empty. Suppose I won. I got everything I wanted and I was the most famous and adored person in the nation. What did it matter, when the people I was pleasing were so worthless? They didn't care about me when I was just another girl. Their praise was worthless. They would love what I did, not me. They still wouldn't care about me.

* * *

Hlenn Rambutan- District Eleven female

The Games were never going to end. I'd been running from Rose for three days. I'd been near enough a patch of tall grass to get away, and I'd be moving ever since. Theo's cannon sounded, but I didn't even hear it over my panic. That was something I'd always feel guilty about. I knew I couldn't have saved Theo, but I didn't even think about her as she died. I hoped she was thinking about her sister and not me.

I didn't have time to grab my things, so all I had was the water bottle that was stuffed in my pocket when it happened. I hadn't eaten in three days, aside from the grass I'd taken to nibbling on. It looked close to grain, and it made me feel like I was eating. I knew I was starting to starve when I saw a grub on a tree branch and my mouth filled with spit. Some people in Eleven said bugs were the best food in terms of supply and nutrition. They'd never convinced me, but that grub sure tasted good.

On the fourth day, I saw some lions eating a wildebeest. It was still stirring, kicking at them as they tore off strips of it. I wondered if Theo felt that way when Rose ran past her after me, and if I would feel like that when she found me.

* * *

Rose O'Durren- District One female

Blast it, I had a cold. I was on a searing-hot African savanna, and I had a cold. It wasn't going to stop me from finding Hlenn- it wasn't even really slowing me down- but it was annoying. The stiff neck, the headache, the stiff neck… The only thing I was keeping an eye on was the fever. My temperature was only slightly elevated, but if it got any higher, I would need to make it clear I wanted medicine from my sponsors. Fevers weren't anything to trifle with.

 _I want this done with._ I pressed on, taking the speed up a notch as I tracked Hlenn. It was hard when there were so many other animals leaving signs, but I wasn't trained for nothing. I'd found one footprint, and she hadn't been so careful with her hands. There was a faint trail of grass with the tops torn off, like someone was plucking the wheatlike fluffs to eat.

I knew I was getting closer on day five. The footsteps were more evident. They were deeper. Hlenn was slowing down, resting more heavily on each foot before she continued. She was tired, far more tired than I was. I forced myself to eat another dehydrated packet, even though it turned my stomach. Soon it would be over, and I would never eat that slop again.

* * *

Hlenn Rambutan- District Eleven female

Surrounded by golden grass, there was a tree. It was a tall, tall thing, reaching far into the sky. Its trunk was as fat and round as a gazebo, making it easy to climb the big protrusions. I felt close to home the farther up I went, as the gold was swallowed up by the green at the very top platform of the barren trunk. I settled onto a wide, round branch comfortably and looked out into the Arena.

Far away, off into the distance, I saw Rose. She looked as healthy as ever, and she was slowly coming my way. She went off to one side or another as she chased the wrong trail, but she was coming this way.

I grabbed the trunk, ready to climb down and run, but I stopped myself. If I ran, I would be where I started. I would be on the ground, looking over my shoulder and wondering when the arrow would hit me. Here, I knew where Rose was. She didn't know where I was, not exactly. The leaves were thick enough to hide me. She might wander on by, wondering where the trail went. The tree was easy for a girl from Eleven to climb, but anyone else would think the towering, branchless trunk was impenetrable. If she did put things together, she couldn't get me. She couldn't follow me, and I was too high up to shoot. We would be at an impasse. I looked down on her from my safe perch, wondering what the Gamemakers would have to say about this.


	50. The Queen Has Returned

Rose O'Durren- District One female

Late that night, Hlenn's trail went cold. There was no sign of her, meaning two things. She either vanished into thin air, or she saw me and was sneaking.

The only other possibility was the tree a few feet away. It was a smooth, impossibly tall trunk, impossible to climb. Or maybe just impossible for anyone but an Eleven. I forced my eyes off the trunk as though I'd just been glancing, resisting the temptation to look up. I wouldn't see her in the night or in the greenery, but she would know I looked. I pretended to find a trail and went on, out of range of sight so I could make my camp. I would wait until daylight to make my move, and have all night to plan.

* * *

Hlenn Rambutan- District Eleven female

Daylight revealed Rose. I'd moved near the trunk, into a spot with branches around me so she couldn't hit me even if her arrows went that high, and when I peeked out that morning, she was there. She was sitting in some grass, her legs crossed and her arms on her knees as she looked at me pensively. She was making a plan to kill me.

"You can't get up here," I called down.

"You can't get down," she called back. She rose, sliding her bow off her back and down her arm.

"They won't reach," I said.

She fired anyway, even though we knew what would happen. The arrow reached three-fourths of the way up the tree, sticking into the wood. Maybe she hoped I would go after it and try to keep it, but I wasn't helping her. I couldn't have done anything but throw it at her, and it would travel even less distance without the bow.

"You just gonna sit there and lurk?" I asked.

"Humans live about three weeks without food," she said. She shook out her backpack, revealing half a dozen tiny packets of dehydrated food. "Even less without water."

* * *

Hlenn Rambutan- District Eleven female

Just as I thought, we were in a stalemate. Unfortunately, there was an end in sight. I had half a bottle of water left, and when I slid the bottle over a leafy branch to gather more, I could tell it was going to be slow going. The leaves were thin, and they weren't generating enough to keep me alive. In a day, the water would be gone. In three more, I'd be dead.

Hours passed in silence. I had nothing to say to Rose, and she had no need to talk. Then it was the next day, and I found myself staring at that arrow, wondering if getting shot was less painful than dehydration. I looked at the point, stuck into the wood. It was damp, like it was already bleeding.

 _Damp? Wait._

This was the savanna. There was no dew here. Why would the arrow be wet, and why was there a thin dark line under it? Unless…

I smashed the bottle in a last gamble. Taking a shard, I scratched at the trunk beside me, gouging a hole in the wood. Layers of wood flaked away, revealing softer, moister wood. Then I punctured through, and the shard sank into soft wood. When I pulled it out, water trickled from the hole. That was why the tree was so fat. It was full of water.

* * *

Rose O'Durren- District One female

Why wasn't she dead? It had been four days. Four mind-numbing, empty days. She should be dying. Instead she was as healthy as ever- she let me know by talking every now and then, and even singing an Eleven song once.

"Shut up," I called up when she started another. I wasn't angry. I wasn't going to let her get a rise out of me and make me do something stupid. I was just frustrated. I was tired of sleeping in grass and brushing insects off myself in the morning. I was sick of freeze-dried foods and dehydration headaches and feeling like I was falling apart. I aimed an arrow at her, not intending to shoot but hoping it would scare her into silence. Instead I only scared myself, because my vision was blurred. I blinked, but it didn't go away. _Now I'm going blind, too?_

 _As long as it takes. I have nowhere to be. I'm not missing anyone. If it takes all year, I will sit here until you die. Dehydration, falling, my arrows, I don't care. You're going to die. You have nowhere to go._

* * *

Hlenn Rambutan- District Eleven female

This wouldn't last forever. I had water, but it wouldn't last forever. The water would, but the Gamemakers would get bored eventually. They would pick one of us, and I didn't imagine it would be me. I'd had a good run, but time was catching up with me. The Reaper was at the bottom of the tree, and once you see the Reaper, it isn't long until she takes you away.

Rose stood. She shuffled her foot boredly in the grass, stirring up something. I hoped wildly for the snake, but it was just a little rodent. It ran away, unharassed by Rose. She only killed humans. She put a hand on her stomach, then bent suddenly. She heaved and vomited, then straightened sharply and looked up at me.

 _What?_ Was Rose sick? I couldn't be that lucky. It was probably that freeze-dried food. She looked at me malevolently, daring me to call her weak or acknowledge what had just happened.

"It won't be long," Rose said, glaring coldly at me.

* * *

Rose O'Durren- District One female

I didn't know how long it had been. Time was stretching out, blurring into something meaningless. In the Capitol they'd given the females an implant to stop them from menstruating in the Arena, but I wondered if something had gone wrong with mine. I always got testy on my period, and I sure felt pissy now. I was downright angry with Hlenn for how long it was taking her to die. It wasn't fair. All the cards were in my hand. She had no food, no water, and no allies. She couldn't stay alive. She just couldn't.

* * *

Hlenn Rambutan- District Eleven female

My legs were going to be a mess if I ever got down, not that that would probably be a problem. I'd been in a tree for almost a week. My muscles were cramped and my stomach was completely empty, since I'd exhausted the grubs and ants within reach on the first day. I was starting to feel faint. _Not long now, Rose._

The sun glinted off Rose's hair as she craned her neck to look at me. Her eyes were squinted in the light. She blinked, then blinked again. Her face twitched, and then she fell. She fell straight, like a plank, like she'd stiffened up. She landed softly in the grass, and then it was like she wasn't human anymore. She twitched all over, her legs and arms jerking like she was being tickled. Strange noises came from her mouth, which was open so her tongue flopped out. Her eyes were entirely white, and her head moved spastically, looking every which way. Her back arched, and her fingers curled into claws, then relaxed. Her hands fluttered by her sides like birds.

 _She's dying,_ I knew. For everything Rose was, she died the same as anyone. I didn't know why or what was happening, but I saw the life arcing through her short-circuiting body. It had already left her white eyes. The only evidence of animation was the heaving, grunting breaths and her pink tongue.

I thought she'd be dead by the time I climbed down. There was no way this was a trap, not with the noises she was making. She was still when I reached her, but the cannon hadn't gone yet. I stood by her lifeless body, wondering where the life was if it wasn't in her eyes. I wondered if I would feel it in the air when her soul left her.

Everything she trained for and fought for, and here she was. Her cheeks were blue, and her hand was limp when I touched it. I felt like I should stay, not because Rose deserved it but because a human did. She didn't live like a human, but she died like one.

* * *

Rose O'Durren- District One female

Catullus killed Theo's sister. When Theo died, she must have thought of her. The others thought of parents, or siblings, or maybe even pets. I didn't think of anyone. Not the classmates who rejected me. Not the parents who bought a cute kitten and abandoned it when it grew into a cat. Not Cloey, who I cared about exactly enough not to kill, or Nadaline, my only friend from One and the only girl I ever shared any bit of myself with. In the end, I didn't have anyone at all.

* * *

Hlenn Rambutan- District Eleven female

Her hand was still warm when the cannon went off. I held it, knowing it wasn't a person but only flesh, no longer animated with life. It was as pale as a ghost, and as limp as paraffin. She'd only died a moment ago, but somehow her flesh changed. I was holding a doll, a doll shaped like a beautiful girl. I knew death like I hadn't before, enough to know that I didn't know it at all.

* * *

 **2nd place: Rose O'Durren- Brain-eating amoeba**

 **Hard to tell if you should chalk her death up to Naegleria Fowleri or the grand mal seizure that interrupted oxygen to her brain. Either way, Rose was on death row as soon as she faceplanted into that river. Water went up her nose, and so did the amoeba. N. Fowleri VERY rarely causes this syndrome, but when it does, extremely few people survive. You show symptoms in about three days and die about five later. Kind of an anticlimax, but sometimes it be like that. Initially I thought Cloey would win, or maybe Rose. Hlenn and Theo came later. It changed a lot, since I knew Rose would have a good story. In the end I thought Hlenn had a more unique voice that would contribute more to the universe, but obviously I liked Rose. We all know what it's like to be bullied, and Rose had a lot of depth to her. Her form said she would die unfairly, and there's not much to do with an amoeba we can't cure even if we diagnose it. Thanks Primaryfocus for Rose. Second place sucks, not gonna sugarcoat it, but Rose was awesome.**

 **Victor: Hlenn Rambutan, District Eleven female**

 **My very first Victor was an Eleven female. She's retired from mentoring since Apollo died a second time, and I'm happy to add Hlenn. She let me use my poetic writing voice and really stood out with her ethereal and morbid interests. There's so much to explore there that she'll write herself. She definitely snuck up on everyone, even me- I didn't think she might win until around the final eight. Hlenn was already flirting with death before this, and the Games really reinforced what she already was. SparkaLeah, you did it. You've been here a while, and I'm super happy to add you to the Victors. Hlenn's gone this far, and she's barely starting.**


	51. Coronation

**Funny story: I've never read Homestuck, so that's probably why Hlenn diverged from her inspiration.**

* * *

Hlenn Rambutan- District Eleven female

It was appropriate that I looked like a skeleton when I woke up. I hadn't gotten into much action during the Games, so I didn't have any wounds to treat. The major evidence of the Arena was my emaciated frame. I'd barely eaten for a week, and I hadn't eaten much even before that. My limbs were mottly and spiderwebbed with veins, too, because even with the water tree, I was still dehydrated. I had an IV in one arm and I was glad they did that when I was sleeping, because my veins had to be tiny.

 _They ruined me._ It wasn't as bad as all that, but I felt violated when I looked at myself. They'd grafted more hair onto my head so my thin locks were thick and luxurious. They'd fixed my shortsightedness, which would have been a plus if they'd _asked_ me first. They just took a knife to my eyes like they weren't even mine. They made my eyes bigger while they were at it, and they puffed my lips so they were more heart-shaped. What really hurt was they scrubbed away my freckles. My skin was even and smooth, and my wonderfully scattered, random freckles were gone. They made me look like a beautiful woman, and they made me not look like Hlenn.

 _But it's sort of a positive, isn't it? I can focus on this, and not the_ death games _I just got out of._

I didn't know how to feel. I felt like I should be sad or scared, but I felt numb. I'd read enough about mourning and death to know this was normal. There really wasn't any _abnormal_ reaction to trauma, but this was one of the most common. This wasn't something human minds were made for, so when it happened, we kind of hit a wall. I felt like I should be thinking about my allies, but they were gone. They were dead. I'd never get them back. Adira and Theo were in the past now. I'd always remember them, but we didn't have a future. Only I did.

I was glad Frankie was the first to visit me. His face looked the same as mine.

"Do you know what it's like now?" he asked.

"I thought I would, but I think I never will," I said. "Just you, and Calvary, and Gidget, Kazuo, Rhoda, and Vera."

Frankie never wasted time with sentimentality or sugarcoating. If he knew about something it, he would discuss it. If he didn't, he left it to those he did. Even having been through the Games three times, he still didn't know about recovering from something that didn't hurt him, and he didn't offer platitudes or say it would be all right.

"Why did Rose die?" I asked. She just had a seizure and died, right out of nowhere.

"It was a brain-eating amoeba. She got it from the river," Frankie said.

 _That was it? All that training, and a drop of water undid it all._ It didn't seem fair.

When Creme dramatically threw the door open and squealed, Frankie took his leave.

"HleeeeEEEeEEEEnnnnnN!" Creme shrieked. "You're back!" He gasped. "And you're beautiful!"

"I wasn't before?" I asked with a fragile smile.

"You were okay, but now you're beautiful!" he said.

"Oh. Thanks," I mumbled. It was bad enough he said something like that, but I also had to deal with the guilt that I was blinking back tears over my face when people had just died.

My dress was bright yellow. I didn't think anything so bright and sunny had anything to do with the Capitol, but Creme had an explanation.

"I did some research," he said proudly. "There's a flower that sleeps for a hundred years, and then it blooms. You were in the Arena for practically a hundred years, and now you can bloom!" I tried to be happy for him, and I _did_ like the dress. The skirt was made of strands of soft, fuzzy fringe, like a thousand thin petals, and the top was tapered and green.

Being with Caesar again was the most normal part of the day. I remembered the stage from so many times before, and I could almost feel the echoes of everyone else who had sat in that same chair.

"I hope you're not offended to hear we're a little surprised," Caesar said. "But I love surprises, and this is an especially good one."

"I'm surprised too," I said. "To tell the truth, I pretty much lucked into this."

"We're glad you did. You certainly earned it, though," Caesar said. At twenty-nine days, my Games was one of the longest in history.

It was surreal to watch the replay. But then, everything since I woke up had felt surreal. I'd always been so fascinated with death, but I felt dirty watching it again. It was something sacred and meaningful, not a spectacle for amusement. Each one of the Tributes, even the ones I hated, were valuable. I watched them die scared and alone, and I could only think of what a waste it was. I saw Rose splash into the river. She hadn't known she'd died then. For the rest of the video, I saw her converging toward that moment, and when it came, I wished it hadn't.

I hated President Snow. We all did. I hated watching him sweep down the aisle and I shuddered at the thought of him touching me. I didn't look at him when he held up the crown, and I hoped he just took it as a show of fear or respect.

I took a look at the crown and I smiled, but it was bitter. It was a lovely thing, with a delicate wire frame. The wires surrounded and supported butterflies, butterflies coated in glass so thin I could still see through their wings. They were artfully arranged to balance each other out. They arced up to look like they were flying away, but it was a lie. They were dead, as dead as the beetles whose iridescent blue-green wings lined the bottom of the crown. They were beautiful, free-flying creatures. It was fitting, then, that the Capitol killed them to look at their bodies.


	52. TourInitiation

Hlenn Rambutan- Victor

My initiation was during the Victory Tour. It was morbid, but so was I. I felt like the others deserved it, too. It was hard to find privacy, since I was famous and all, so that's how a bunch of Victors dressed in inconspicuous black clothes ended up skulking in twelve cemeteries in the dead of the night.

Each cemetery had a section for Tributes. Some were just an unofficial area unmarked by any special decorations. Others had statues and signs and things like that. One's cemetery had a fenced-off section, but not every Tribute was in it. There were several missing, including Bronze, and I asked Blake about it.

"Either they weren't Careers, or they didn't do well enough. A warrior's burial is an honor," she said. Rose was there, of course. Her gravestone was tall and elaborate, and it was covered with jewelled roses.

 _That's kind of sad,_ I thought. Sure, her parents left roses, but they left fake ones. The jewels wouldn't wilt, meaning they wouldn't be visiting her grave often. They cared about appearances, not their daughter. Bronze's stone wasn't in the special section, but it was covered with real flowers and tokens in various stages of decay, meaning he had visitors every day.

Two's Tribute section was stark and ascetic. Each Tribute was marked with a marble bust with their name. Kio and Valerian were both there, though some others were missing, just like One.

"Even though he didn't ally with the Careers?" I asked Pray.

"He still killed," she shrugged.

I'd left a flower on Rose's grave, and I did the same for Kio. For Valerian, I popped off the rose head and left her the thorns. I thought she'd like that better.

Three was mostly urban, so their cemetery was small. Gidget explained that cremation was the norm, since it used less space. All the Tributes were present in their section. I hadn't known Coil or Martyna, so I hardly felt anything looking at the undecorated shelves bearing their names among the others. It was strange how it felt more intimate. The coffins were six feet underground, but staring at an urn, I was inches from a child's remains.

Four's cemetery was by the sea, naturally. I could hear the waves as I looked over the tiny plot of land. Four wasn't as rabid as One and Two, so I was surprised at all the missing names.

"A lot of us choose burial at sea," Careen explained. She pointed out at the ocean. "Antonia is out there, where she belongs." I cast her flower out into the surf, trusting it to find her.

Like Three, Five had a small urban cemetery. Many of the remains were in urns, and the plots were depressingly close together.

"It's not all kids," Sky said. "We just often bury people standing up to leave room."

I hadn't known Mark or Dina either, so I left them their flowers and we left pretty quickly.

Six's cemetery was dirty and soot-covered. The graves were small and flat, and the smoke in the air made me cough. I left Kaulan's grave quickly, leaving him with a poem I'd printed out, but I lingered at Adira's. As filthy as the cemetery was, my ally deserved my time.

 _She loved them, and look what they did. They couldn't even give her a pretty place to rest,_ I thought. She was so much prettier than this place, inside and out. But she was prettier than the Capitol, too. Better an ugly grave here than a palace there.

Seven's cemetery had no fences, and most of the graves were unmarked. There were trees and flowers everywhere, even right over the graves.

"Stone graves just take up space and disturb the earth. Better to plant a tree and nourish it with your own body," Hades said. Brad's grave already had flowers planted, and there was a sapling over Cloelia's. I would have planted something, but I didn't have her family's permission, so I just laid down a cut flower, even though it seemed wrong to add a dead plant to this green space.

It was almost funny that the Eight cemetery had mostly cloth flowers instead of real ones. Tillo had warned me, so I had silk flowers for Max and Isabelline. I hated that I knew so little about them. They were important, even if they weren't part of my story. I could only ask their mentors, mentors who would always carry them in their thoughts.

Ten's cemetery was the largest. They had very few Victors, and they were the most spacious and least-populated District. Many of the graves were homemade, with a lot of wooden markers in various stages of decay. Some were barely legible, which saddened me. These were children whose families didn't even remember them. Falcon's grave was bare until I put down a flower. Historia's was so full it almost made me happy. At least she had a happy life.

My last ally was the last grave I visited. Theo was smart, and funny, and loyal, and so many other things the Capitol wasted. All that remained was a cold stone marker with her name etched under her sister's.

 _They have the same grave,_ I thought. _Isn't that convenient? When their parents want to mourn, they can visit both children at once._ It was the kind of joke Theo would have made. It made my stomach hurt.

"That's how it is, isn't it?" Peppermint asked. It was the first time I'd ever heard her talk. "There's no getting away from it."

"Seems like it's always been near me," I said.

"We're all going to die," Gidget said. "But don't let it stop you from living."

Fifty-six Victors, all across the spectrum. Some hopeful, others resigned. Each had something to say about death. Each of us our year's representative of life.

* * *

 **I was too lazy to go through all my canon snarls for the exact number of Victors, so I picked a number that was pretty close. About one more epilogue chapter, and then we're done!**


	53. Epilogue

Hlenn Rambutan- Victor

It was strange to return to a normal life. I'd never been normal, and that perhaps made it easier to accept that I'd never be the same person again. I was famous. People crowded around me in the streets, pestering me for autographs or money. I had a new house in an entirely new part of the District. My roommates were Victors instead of other poor workers, and believe me, Frankie, Peppermint and Orchard were strange bedfellows. I gravitated toward Frankie, with his knowledge of death, and he was endlessly patient, since he was the only person on Earth I couldn't annoy.

If there was one thing that got to me, it was the lack of privacy. Everywhere I went, people recognized me. I didn't care that they only cared when I was a Victor. I just wanted some peace and quiet. And so, naturally, I found myself back where I'd always loved to be: the cemetery. Snow might not have accepted my proposed talent of embalming, but I could still freelance. After it was dark, when the dead were closer to the living world, I would creep out to my sanctuary and hang out with the only people who understood the Games. Sometimes I brought flowers, and sometimes I just brought myself.

When the next Games started to draw closer, I didn't dread it like most Victors. I hated the Games and the death they brought, but death had never been alien to me. I still wanted to understand it, even if I now knew death wasn't a child's curiosity. I wanted to know more, and now I wanted it with a new maturity. I hoped dearly that I could keep my mentees away from it, but knowing your enemy is half the battle.

"Hey, Dad. I actually did it," I said to my father one night in the cemetery, or at least to his ashes. "Wouldn't you be proud?" But he had always been proud of me. He was proud when I learned how to read, and when I climbed my first tree, and the first time I beat him in a trivia contest. I didn't carry his ashes around because of some unfulfilled urge to please. I just liked being with my dad.

Something stirred in the darkness. A moth fluttered up, seemingly from nowhere. It was a luna moth, with lovely pale-green wings. It landed on a gravestone, splaying its wings. Then, after a moment, it flew into the sky and vanished into the clouds.

Not everyone would know what it meant, but it was clear to me. Many cultures linked moths with death. Some called them omens, others messengers of departed souls. I knew which was true. My father _was_ proud of me, and I'd known that before any moth told me. This moth had much more to tell than that. It was a single moth, but it held a message from souls all over Panem. From the hundred and three children from Eleven, and from the hundreds more from the other Districts. I didn't know exactly what they were saying, since only the dead understand their language, but I got the message. The dead had differing opinions of me. Some were proud, others resentful. But all were accepting. The dead had moved on, leaving only me. Just like the moth, I was left behind. For all the dead, I would live.

* * *

 **Another one for the books. I'll be rolling right into my next story, but I'm not putting the new doc up until tomorrow, because I'm lazy. And there might be an interruption in the next story, since I'll be moving to New Orleans in two weeks, but I'll soldier on after that. Hope you all had fun, and cheers to Hlenn for all she accomplished.**


End file.
